David Koh

31 Aug

Fragmented realities and abstracted narratives
By Zhai Qiutong

Born in Singapore and raised in the United States of America, David Koh is an artist and filmmaker who challenges the concept of narrative and multi-layered reality through experimentation of digital tools and techniques. His new media artworks, ranging from video art to mixed reality projects, are often expressionist and contemplative towards the role of the internet and technology. Through his practice, David negotiates the relationship between personal identities and cultural narratives, abstracting these ideas to compose alternative visual representations. David earned his BA in Film and TV Production from New York University in 2015. He is currently pursuing a Masters in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins in London.

David Koh, ‘The Daily Delusion, Issue 1’, 2022, 55gsm newspaper print, 28.9 x 38cm each. Image courtesy of the artist.

David also writes and develops art theories, especially on media and technology. He publishes these writings on his Medium blog. Some of these concepts include narrative expressionism and fourth person perspective. His writing provides a strong conceptual foundation for his practice, and contemplates the relationship between his works and the world around us.

Speaking about Prince with passion, David describes him as the Picasso of music, who constantly produces works as a way of understanding the world. Prince’s exploration of his own materials and experimentation with compositions informs David’s practice in many ways. The multiplicity of each work challenges the foundational definition of the medium itself.

David Koh, ‘<- - o n w a r d s - -> part 2’, 2022, single-channel video 1:00min loop, A3 sketchbook, wooden and metallic table, at the exhibition ‘De-Oriented’ by An.Other Asian (AOA), London, 2022. Image courtesy of the artist.

In the recent ‘De-Oriented’ exhibition organised by An.Other Asian (AOA), David created a projection mapping experience using AI, bringing the digital into a real 3D environment. The slow morphing of the machine generated images contemplates the fluidity of Singapore’s landscape and its eternal rebirth. Being a Singaporean who grew up in the United States, David feels a conflict between his past and present. Researching Singapore’s history and its development is his way of negotiating these double identities.

David is currently an artist-in-residence at Objectifs from 1 to 31 August 2022 – the first since the pandemic – where he will continue to explore developments in Singapore, particularly the country’s ties to nature and its history. This is with the aim of organically discovering a Singapore that is different from his childhood nostalgia. While the Objectifs residency requires no determined outcome, David envisions an exhibition once his project is completed.

David Koh, ‘Digital Garden’, 2021, Digital 3D Model, shown at ‘ZECHE, The New Now Festival’, Essen, Germany 2021. Showing now at ‘Annual Metaverse Art @Venice’, Venice, Italy, 2022. Image courtesy of the artist

David’s digital manipulations transgress dimension. He consistently explores the layering of artificial and natural. His work ‘Digital Garden’ is currently on show at the first Annual Metaverse Art in Venice.

Click here to read our dialogue with David Koh.