"What are we trying to commemorate through public sculptures? Stonehenge, the obelisks, the stone statues of Moai, the Dolharubang of Jeju Island in Korea symbolically reflect the human history and desires. Likewise, the monuments in ASEAN countries that have been established on collective memories in public places show at a glance the history of Southeast Asia that has undergone the process of modernization through colonialism. Human’s ambitious desire to remember something like this is placed on a high plinth in the form of various gods, mothers, and heroes. But AI tends to recognize these idolized figures just as a ‘dog’. What we want to remember is the triumph or the trauma? What is the finger pointing at?" (Jinjoon Lee)

ASEAN Collaborators 

• Dito Yuwono (Indonesia, The White Paal) 

• Thitibodee Rungteerawattananon (Thailand, Silp Bhirari statue, Sahachart Memorial, Erawan Shine) 

• Kittima Chareeprasit (Thailand, Democracy monument) (filmed by Nontawat Numbenchapol and Abhichon Rattanabhayon) 

• chi too (Malaysia, National Monument) 

• Load Na Dito (Philippines, The Philippine Motherland, Quezon Memorial) 

• Tung Zhiwen John (Singapore, Nutmeg and Mace, Inscription of the Island) 

• Trần Minh Đức (Duc flyingbay) (Vietnam, Sculpture of Our Lady of Peace, Monument of Workers and Peasants) 

• Lyno Vuth (Cambodia, Neang Kong Hing Roundabout) 

Commission / Artebah 

Creative Director / Dr. Jinjoon Lee FRSA (Professor at KAIST Graduate school of Culture Technology) 

• AI Researcher / Dr. Andrew Gambardella 

• VR Researcher / Dr. Guillermo Valle 

• Metaverse Builder / Paul Wilson 

• Editorial Design / Sihowork 

• Post Production / NOMADEA Ltd. 

• Technology Support / KAIST Graduate school of Culture Technology TX creative media LAB

More Details

Metaverse Media Art Exhibition ‘Statue Garden’ is held as an online exhibition in the metaverse gallery that is accessible on all devices such as mobile, PC, and VR. The metaverse exhibition space is designed as an extension of the artwork to feel the Total Experience. By making the exhibition accessible not only through websites but also through VR, visitors can experience the exhibition as if they were looking around in the real world, while experiencing a unique space experience that can only be felt in the virtual world. A French VR researcher Dr. Guillermo Valle participated in metaverse space planning, and British metaverse builder Paul Wilson was in charge of designing and building the metaverse gallery. 

The new video installation work of Dr. Jinjoon LEE  is a collage video of public sculptures and monuments in ASEAN country, expressing the third virtual world. AI technology such as object detection segmentation and inpainting was used to create the third urban landscape with collaboration with American AI researcher Andrew Gambardella. Especially, AI which doesn’t recognize the symbolic meaning of the monument lets us think from different perspective how the human history and desires are reflected in public sculptures. Communicating contactless online, eight curators and artists from seven ASEAN countries (Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Indonesia) participated in producing and planning the videos of representative public sculptures in each ASEAN country. It showed the possibility of active cultural exchange and cooperation across physical borders.

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Directed by Lee, Jinjoon

Dr. Jinjoon Lee FRSA is a new media artist and creative director exploring the liminoid experience of utopian space ideologies with new technologies. After graduating from the Business School of Seoul National University in Seoul, he went on to pursue a master degree of Moving Image and Design Interaction at the Royal College of Art in London, and the doctorate of philosophy in the Ruskin School of Fine Art, University of Oxford. His doctoral thesis was titled Empty Garden: A Liminoid Journey to Nowhere in Somewhere (2020), addressing a new theoretical perspective on virtual and augmented reality. Since giving his debut solo exhibition at ARKO Art Centre of Arts Council Korea in 2008, Lee has exhibited at numerous venues worldwide. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and a full-fledged member of the Royal Society of Sculptors (MRSS). Lee’s studio is perhaps best known for the 12 height public media sculpture They (2010), which was permanently installed at Digital Media City, Seoul in 2010, and works on the architectural design and development of innovative projects for various requests around the world. Having previously taught at the University of Oxford, He has been appointed a professor at KAIST and researches on Data-driven Art & Design, Digital Architecture and XR Performance with new technologies like AI, NFT at his TX lab. Currently, he is the founding director of KAIST Art Museum.

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The White Paal (Tugu Jogja) 1756(1879), Yogyakarta, Indonesia 

The monument was one of the oldest monuments in the city and its closely related to the socio-political-historical of the city, which initially built as a symbol of the unity of the kingdom and the people. Nowadays, this monument considered as the icon of Yogyakarta, one of the most popular sites in the city. 

Silp Bhirasri Statue (ศิิลป์์ พีีระศรีี) Unknown, Bangkok, Thailand 

Silp Bhirasri is the father of sculpture in Thailand. He made a lot of monuments for government, including the Democracy monument(อนุุสาวรีีย์์ป ระชาธิิปไต ย). He founded what later became Silpakorn University, where his statue is located, and it was the first foreign monument in Thailand.

Sahachart Memorial (อนุสาวรีย์สหชาติ) 1913, Bangkok, Thailand 

This Pig Memorial was built in 1913, the year of Queen Saovabha Phongsri’s 50th Birthday Anniversary. Its official name is “Sahachart Memorial”, which refers to “The Memorial of Those Who Were Born in The Same Year”. Its purpose is to honor the year of the pig, which was the queen’s year of birth, as well as the three donors.

Erawan Shrine (statue of Phra Phrom) (อ นุุสาว รีี ย์์สหชา ติิ) Unknown, Bangkok, Thailand 

The Erawan Shrine houses a statue of Phra Phrom, the Thai representation of Brahma, the Hindu god of creation. This shrine has a lot of people’s loves, but some want to destroy it, and there were two major attempts to destroy it both in 2006 and 2015.

Democracy Monument (อ นุุสาว รีี ย์์ ประชาธิิ ปไตย) 1939, Bangkok, Thailand 

This public monument was erected to commemorate Thailand’s momentous transformation from absolute to constitutional monarchy. It is a mark of the history where the modernization of Thailand has begun. Even though it seems to be the new nationalist, this monument is still symbolic of Democracy in Thailand.

National Monument (Tugu Negara) 1966, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 

The monument was built to commemorate the fallen soldiers fighting in the Malayan Emergency against communist forces (1948-1960). The monument is almost an exact copy both in looks and concept to the Iwo Jima Memorial in Virginia, USA. That is because it is designed by the same artist, Felix De Weldon.

The Philippine Motherland (La Madre Filipina) 1920, Manila, Philippines 

The La Madre Filipina depicts the nation as a motherland placed on the four pillars of Jones Bridge. The bridge was destroyed during the Battle of Manila (1944-1945), and one of the statues was permanently lost during the destruction. Three of the remaining original sculptures were displayed in different locations, but in 2019 they are reinstalled to its original posts with the replica of the destroyed statue.

National Memorial Shrine of Quezon (Pambansang Pang-alaalang Dambana ni Quezon) 1952, Quezon City, Philippines 

The Quezon Memorial Shrine is a monument and national shrine dedicated to former Philippine President Manuel Quezon and it also houses a museum at its base. The 3 angel figures were made by Italian sculptor Francesco Riccardo Monti, the 3 angels represent the 3 main islands of the Philippines.

Nutmeg And Mace 2009, Orchard Turn, Singapore 

Placed at the entrance plaza of ION Orchard, this sculpture tells us about the history of Orchard Road, where plantations of various kinds of crops such as nutmeg once thrived. Orchard Road, presently one of Singapore’s most expensive commercial shopping districts in the world began as a fruit orchard.

Inscription of the Island 2016, Changi Coast Track, Singapore 

Commissioned for the 2016 edition of the Singapore Biennale, it wowed audiences as they arrived at the anchor venue for the biennale, the Singapore Art Museum. With the palm facing skyward and a pointing index finger, in the artist’s imagination, this sculpture was once part of a colossal statue that guided the ships of an ancient, mythical civilisation.

Sculpture of Our Lady of Peace (Tượng Đức Mẹ Hoà Bình) 1959, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 

Our Lady of Peace statue is to memorize 300 years of Roman Catholic Archdiocese in Vietnam. The statue is built by Colonial French in Vietnam as an idea of colonial patronage initiation in Vietnam and broader whole Cambodia and Laos.

Neang Kong Hing Roundabout (រង្វវង់់មូូលនាងគង្ហីីង) 1990’s, Phnom Penh, Cambodia 

This sculpture of Preah Neang Kong Hing (Mother Earth Goddess) is a depiction of a scene from Buddhist narrative. She protects the Bodhisattva from demons who prevent him from reaching enlightenment. It has been moved a few times, due to traffic jam. Contrasted with her value and purpose, here she is witnessing the collapse of public spaces into privatised and commercial facility amidst a chaotic junction of society.

Monument of Workers and Peasants (Tượng đài Công nông Xô Viết Trường Thi) 2012, Vinh City, Vietnam 

Memorial monument is dedicated to the historically important Nghệ Tĩnh - Soviets revolution against French colonial regime, landlords and the mandarinates which took place throughout 1930-1931 among workers and peasants in the two Nghe and Ha Tinh Province in Vietnam.