Shoey Nam’s research delves into the depth of the seemingly frivolous notion of the comic. Despite its amusing and ostensibly uncomplicated façade, when closely examined, the complexity from which laughter arises compels one to think about its paradoxically dark and solemn nature. Embodying such conflicting qualities, her visual practice often manifests in forms of printmaking, such as woodcut/linocut and screen printing. Despite their easily reproducible nature, such printing techniques require laborious and painstaking procedures, mirroring the antinomy of the sense of levity found in low culture aesthetics and the solemnity of high theory.
Shoey Nam holds a BA (Hons) in Graphic and Media Design from the University of the Arts London (UAL) and an MA in Integrated Design from the University of the Arts Bremen (HfK), throughout which she developed a keen interest in visual storytelling as well as theoretical aspects of visual culture and media studies. She is currently pursuing a binational artistic PhD at HfK Bremen, in partnership with HDK-Valand, the Academy of Art and Design at the University of Gothenburg.
EDUCATION
2022–Present, Binational Artistic PhD @University of the Arts Bremen; @University of Gothenburg, HDK-Valand
2018–2021, MA Integrated Design, School of Visual Combinations @University of the Arts Bremen
2008–2012, BA (Hons) Graphic and Media Design @University of the Arts London: London College of Communication; Foundation Diploma in Art and Design @UAL: Camberwell College of Arts
2007–2008, Foundation in Design / Fashion Design @Samsung Art and Design Institute
EXHIBITIONS
September 2023, Artists as Independent Publishers, @Geidai, Tokyo
June 2022, Halbe Halbe: Floating in, Swerving Out, Doing Art & Theory, @Dauerwelle, Bremen
June 2022, Artists as Independent Publishers, @Burg Halle, Halle
December 2021, Artists as Independent Publishers, @Sint Lucas Antwerpen, Antwerp
April 2021, Artists as Independent Publishers, @Weserburg: Museum of Modern Art, Bremen
June 2019, Dogmented Reality, OPEN: MUSEEN IM DIGITALEN WANDEL, @Tresor Club, Berlin
January 2019, Pop Up Copyright, @Galerie 21 im Vorwerkstift, Hamburg
Oct–Dec 2013, My Sketchbook Project, @Kiehl's Boutique, Seoul
July 2013, New York Art Bag, @Kiehl's Boutique, Seoul
July 2012, The Final Show, @Street Gallery, LCC, London
Jan–Feb 2012, Hunt or Be Hunted, @The Lightbulb Lounge, Sydney
May 2011, Handborn: Illustration Titillation, @Hotel Elephant, London
January 2010, 72//4th AVE (in collaboration with AIAV//), @Brixton Village Market, London
November 2009, The Pop-Up Space (in collaboration with AIAV// and BUREAU DETOURS), @Camberwell College of Arts (Wilson Road Campus), London
LECTURES & CONFERENCES & NETWORK
March 2024, Ambivalent Laughter, Science Goes PUBlic, @Drittel Bar, Bremen
November 2023, Comedy as Cultural Studies (Das Komische als Kulturwissenschaft), @KWI Essen
June 2022, Halbe Halbe Lecture Performance, @Gesellschaft für Aktuelle Kunst, Bremen
May 2022, Heung through Han: The Aesthetics of Korean Laughter, Destroy Media! @HfK Bremen
TEACHING
WS 2023/24, Making an Impression: Perspectives on Printing and Publishing as Art Practice
SS 2023, Visual Storytelling: Exploring the Art and Theory of Narrative Imagery
WS 2022/23, The Gravity of Levity: The Aesthetics and Culture of Popular Laughter
PUBLICATIONS
Levity: A Trivial Theory for Earnest People (2021), Artist’s book publication
Little Things in Life That Can Ruin Your Ducking* Day (2019), Artist’s book publication
A Series of Large-Scale Lino Prints (100 x 70cm), 2022
This series of prints plays with the absurdity of how insignificant causes of irritation can push us over the edge in a disproportionate outrage. By using the lino printing technique that requires laborious, time-consuming and painstaking processes, such transient moments are captured and fixed in permanency. Moreover, the blown-up scale and the extreme blackness assert their ironically significant and tangible state of affairs.
A Trivial Theory for Earnest People; Riso and screen printed; Thread sewn bound; 25cm x 18cm x 1cm; A limited edition of 5, 2021
“We should treat all the trivial things of life seriously, and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality.” — Oscar Wilde
‘Levity’ is about our gravely trivialised modern-day conditions; the world where a tweet can have more of a far-reaching effect than a great work of literature. Despite the seemingly pessimistic state of affairs however, our ability to make light of things can be to our benefit and even be out of necessity. We have a tendency to treat serious matters with triviality, which can be considered detrimental to our ‘modern conditions’ but treated with ‘sincere and studied triviality,’ it can be rather illuminating.
To argue for the importance of levity/triviality, I created a magazine with pulp magazine aesthetics in mind. I used Risograph and screen printing techniques, of which the quick, cheap and mass-produced aesthetic quality coupled with scrupulous procedures reflect the depth and value of the seemingly trivial matter.
Little Things in Life That Can Ruin Your Ducking* Day; Linocut & screen printed; Concertina publication; 18.5cm x 23.5cm; A limited edition of 10, 2019
In modern-day society, we are constantly granted instant gratification without even realising it. Consequently, we are all guilty of expressing petulant frustration, when we are denied immediate results. Ironically, much of our impatience in modern life is triggered by technology, which is meant to make things convenient but makes us feel all but more inconvenienced than ever. A mere few minutes of shaky Wi-Fi connection—often signalled by a slowly rotating circle—can push us over the edge in a disproportionate outrage. What in truth is a minuscular inconvenience in these labour-shy times can seem overwhelmingly debilitating. I decided to utilise two different manual printmaking techniques—screen printing and linocut printing—to depict and counter my heavily digitised topic, for which I illustrated a number of irritating trivial things in life that take place on and around the digital screen. The instant and impeccable nature of digitalisation is contradicted by the manual, mistake-prone printing techniques.
Pee Stains, 2019
Dogmented Reality is an AR team project aiming to show the world from a dog’s perspective. I decided to play with the idea of its territory marking habit. Dogs’ urine contains a lot of specific information. Just by sniffing it, other dogs can find out about the sex, maturity and social status of the scent-leaver. Maybe they even get a vision of what the dogs were doing before leaving the mark. Using the dog-pee stains as markers that trigger the app to display an augmented reality, it acts as a window into their perspective. The form/shape of each pee stain correlates to the type of dog it belongs to. As to the dog‘s vision, the colours were slightly dimmed down as dogs don’t require brilliant vision due to their heightened sense of smell.
Dogmented Reality was exhibited at the staircase of Tresor Berlin, as a preliminary installation, leading up to the main curated event called ‘OPEN: MUSEEN IM DIGITALEN WANDEL’.