Keonwoo (Noah) Kim

Puri Nori

2025

Puri Nori is a two-part work combining installation and video to enact the cycle of entanglement and untangling within personal spirituality and social connection. At the center of the installation stands a totemic pole inspired by sacred trees and communal ritual poles; from its crown, long strips of raw fabric extend across the space like invisible threads. Visitors are invited to write their own spiritual or mythical narratives on slips of paper, then tear and offer them to the pole. Later, the artist gathers these fragments, mixes them into pulp, and hand-crafts them into ritual masks—objects that carry both individual memories and collective tension. The resulting installation transforms the gallery into a living ritual site where roles shift and power flows between artist and audience.

The video documentation captures the counterpart gesture of untangling. Participants are filmed as they gently unravel fabric wrapped around a standing tree in an outdoor setting, their movements echoing the act of social disentanglement. Presented alongside the installation, the footage highlights the focused labor of separation and the narratives that emerge when personal and communal bonds are loosened. In this cycle of entangling and untangling, we will entangle again.

Artist statement
Keonwoo (Noah) Kim works primarily with installation and performance, drawing on shamanic traditions to explore ritual as a form of relational practice. Their work investigates themes of community, social connectedness, and the shifting power dynamics between artist and audience. They have participated in group exhibitions such as U bless U(S) at Bar Bario in Amsterdam (2024) and Bidulki Must Float at POST in Nijmegen (2025), collaborative projects reflecting on displacement, cultural identity, and the spiritual journey and return in unfamiliar environments.

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