Anne Kim

Perceptual Heterotopia

My work explores the tension between the imperfect conditions of reality and the persistent human longing for an ideal state. Rather than imagining utopia as a complete and perfected world outside reality, I focus on moments when shifts in perception emerge within reality itself.

This inquiry originates from my repeated experience of watching sunrise and sunset. During these transitional moments, the surrounding landscape remains the same, yet the atmosphere of space becomes strangely unfamiliar. Colors shift, shadows lengthen, and the density of the air seems to change. Time appears to slow, and perception gradually moves from observation toward immersion.

In my installations, light functions as a primary medium for reconstructing these sensory conditions. Gradual changes in brightness and color evoke the temporal transitions of dawn and dusk, subtly altering the way viewers perceive the surrounding space. The glowing circular form of the sun appears as a symbol of completeness—an ideal form that is visible, yet ultimately unreachable.

Sensation and Memory
2026
Mixed media
55 " W × 99" H × 18.5" D 
 

Light-based installation exploring sensory perception and memory. Using vertical translucent panels and gradual shifts in color and brightness, the work examines how light transforms the experience of space, time, and remembered sensation.