ARTIST STATEMENT
The Bite Back Movement is an artist duo consisting of Alexander Augustus (Brighton, UK) and Seung Youn Lee (Seoul, Korea). Their work traverses seminal social issues such as cultural differences, religion, youth unemployment, and migrant workers. Their work is provocative and uncanny, yet humorous and visually sensitive.
The Bite Back Movement rose to acclaim for their solo exhibition held at Somerset House (London) in 2013, titled A Dangerous Figure: Young and Unemployed in the UK, covered by Art Monthly, Frieze Magazine among others. This work was registered in the official archive of the National Portrait Gallery in London in 2014. In 2015-16 their work was on display in the landmark development, Asia Culture Centre (Gwangju), as part of the grand opening exhibition titled Plastic Myth. To date they have exhibited in Tate Modern (London), Somerset House (London), Asian Culture Centre (ACC, South Korea), Seoul Culture Station 248 (South Korea), among many others.
What happens when our human bodies disappear and only our objects are left to tell stories? This is the starting point of our work. We seek out extraordinary and hidden stories as inspiration, and build new narratives in a contemporary context with our imagination and a range of media. Installation, prints, books, film, drawing, performance and fashion are used to tell our stories. We hope that in the future these artefacts will remain to keep our stories alive.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2016 - TIME SPACE GHOST MONEY, Gallery G2, Incheon Art Platform, South Korea
2015- The Butterflies of Andukbul: Archiving the Cigarette Factory Workers, in conjunction with Cheong-ju biennale, Cheong-ju Cultural Industry Promotion Foundation, Cheong-ju, South Korea
2015- Mu-Dang: The Korean Shaman in the Year 2100 AD (Old House Project exhibition), CAN Foundation, Seoul, Korea
2014 - OH MY GOD : What you Believe in 2100 AD, Solo at Seoul Culture Station 284, South Korea (Also a solo show at Youngeun Museum May 2014 and a London fashion show at Dalston Department Store July 2014)
2014 - A DANGEROUS FIGURE : Stage II, Solo show between London, Manchester and Bristol, in Partnership with Don’t Panic Magazine, O2 : Telefonica funded
2013 - A DANGEROUS FIGURE : Stage I, solo show at Somerset House London, The Bite Back Movement, O2 funded
2012 - Democratic Pressure, The Bite Back Movement, Platoon Kunsthalle, Seoul
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2016 – La Nuit De L’Instant, Les Ateliers de l'Image, Centre Photographique de Marseille, France
2016 – The Internet Yami-Ichi (Black Market / Offprint London), Tate Modern, London, UK
2015 - Plastic Myth: Asia Art Centre opening exhibition, Gwangju, South Korea
2015 – Young Artist Project Exhibition (YAP),Daegu Art Fair, The Twinkle World
2014 - A Hidden Face: Immigrant Ambassadors of South Korea, solo show, funded by Kyunggi Arts Council. Ansan, South Korea
ARTIST RESIDENCIES
2016 – Stiftung Künstlerdorf Schöppingen, Germany
2016 – Incheon Art Space, South Korea
2016 – Seoul Art Space Geumcheon, South Korea
2015 – TEMI Artist Residency, Daejeon, South Korea
2014 - Youngeun Museum, Kyunggi-do, South Korea
2012 - Caledonian Road Festival Artist in Residence, London, UK
COLLABORATIVE INSTALLATIONS WITH PERFORMERS & THEATRES
2016 – The Gate of Silence, Namsan Theatre, Seoul. Collaboration between Modeun Kim and The Bite Back Movement
2016 – Here at the Beginning, There at the End, Cheongju Cultural Council Theatre, Cheongju. Collaboration with Ham Su-youn, traditional Korean performer
2015 – OH MY GOD: 2100 AD Shamans and Goblin Wind (contemporary dance performance), Seoul Culture Station 284, Seoul, South Korea
2013 – Shadow City: Installation for Umbrella Dance Festival. Arts Council England. London, UK
2012 – The Cult of Janus, installation and performance. Secret Garden Party Music Festival, UK
EDUCATION PROGRAMS & LECTURES
2016 – Orchogany: 11 Gods Reborn – 5 week practical workshop and lecture series resulting in a permanent installation with high school students. Incheon Art Platform. South Korea
2015 – Seoul National University, Communication Design Department Lecture. Seoul, South Korea.
2014 - Artience Camp - International workshop, lecture series, exhibition between Artience Foundation, The Bite Back Movement, The Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. Creative Director, tutor, participating artist, graphic designer and lecturer. Daejeon, South Korea.
2014 - Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, MA Narrative Environments Lecture. London, UK.
2014 – Youngeun Museum education workshop. Practical art workshops with high school students. Gyunggido, South Korea.
2013 – Talking Crest Festival. Collaborative series of workshops and installations culminating in a festival in King’s Cross, London. European Union, Camden and Islington Councils, Eurostar, Argent, and Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. Also an installation for TRACTION: Eurostar Music Festival in the same year.
2013 - Halla University Lecture. Seoul, South Korea.
2013 - Korea Polytechnics Lecture. Seoul, South Korea.
AWARDS & GRANTS
2015 – CAN Foundation, Old House Reborn Project, Seoul, South Korea
2015 – Cheong-ju Cultural Industry Promotion Foundation, South Korea
2014 - Kyunggi Arts Council Grant, Ansan, South Korea
2014 - Daejeon Art and Culture Foundation Grant, Daejeon, South Korea
2014 - O2: Telefonica Think Big Grant, London, UK
2013 - O2: Telefonica Think Big Grant, London, UK
2013 - Art Council England Funded, London, UK
WORK IN PERMANENT PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Orchogany: 11 Gods Reborn (2016). 11 steel sculptures mounted on the roof of Incheon Art Platform building ‘H’. Incheon, South Korea. Acquisitioned May 2016.
A Crown for Birth and House Rituals (2015), from The Shamans of Neo-Joseon series. Steel sculpture, 1.5mx30cmx30cm. Asia Culture Centre, ACC. Gwangju, South Korea. Acquisitioned November 2015.
Here at the Beginning, There at the End: The Pollock God of Cheongju (2015). Permanent installation, 30x50x50m / Sculpture 3mx50cmx100cm. Cheongju Cultural Foundation. Acquisitioned November 2015. Acquisitioned October 2015.
OH MY GOD: What you Believe in 2100AD Book (2014), from the OH MY GOD series. Book, 50x30x4cm. Youngeun Museum, Kyunggido Gwangju, South Korea. Acquisitioned March 2014.
Angel Print 6 (2014), from the OH MY GOD series. Large print on fabric 3x1m. Youngeun Museum, Kyunggido Gwangju, South Korea. Acquisitioned March 2014.
A DANGEROUS FIGURE: Young and Unemployed in the UK (2013). Print on paper 21x27cm. Archived in The National Portrait Gallery, London, UK.
Acquisitioned January 2014.