Humans have perpetually endeavored to define who they are. This is evidenced by the numerous modifiers that exist for the word “homo,” which has the meaning of “human.” Humans, who have been regarded as wise and rational beings for centuries, have long believed that they are able to alter the course of the world independently from God. Meanwhile, the astonishing development of science and technology has indeed brought incredible changes to human civilization. While humans continue to challenge themselves to transcend their limits, on the other hand, they are also facing uncontrollable disasters that shake the very core of their daily lives. Amid these new and unfamiliar circumstances and a rapidly changing environment, we again find ourselves posing questions about humans.
With this awareness, Leeum endeavors to examine the meaning of being human and to assess the future through the exhibition Human, 7 questions. The exhibition is organized in the form of posing seven questions about humans through approximately 50 artists and 130 artworks, both domestic and international. Beginning with the postwar art of the mid-twentieth century, when introspection on human existence became widespread, the exhibition proceeds to examine more recent artworks that have emerged together with discussions on the crisis of humanism and the posthuman. Through these works, the exhibition seeks to examine various images of humans that traverse the boundaries between the mind and body, rational and irrational, “me” and the community, real and virtual, and humans and nonhumans. Further, the exhibition seeks to reconsider human values that have been taken for granted thus far. What is human? What are the conditions that define humanity? How are the boundaries between me, the Other, and the world changing? And, are we ready to coexist with unfamiliar beings beyond humans?