A comprehensive catalog showcasing the work of Korean-born media artist Choi Chan-sook will be published in English for the first time this October by Distanz Verlag, a contemporary art publisher based in Berlin. The 416-page book, titled "The Non-Statistical Body," represents a milestone for the Seoul and Berlin-based artist, offering the first complete overview of her artistic practices in English.

Choi Chan-sook has gained significant recognition in the Korean art world, winning the Korea Artist Prize 2021, an annual award given to emerging Korean artists by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea. She received this prestigious honor for her media installation "Qbit to Adam," a 33-minute video work that reflects her ongoing exploration of land ownership issues. This piece exemplifies her approach to addressing complex social and political themes through contemporary media art.

The artist's work is characterized by thorough investigative research and spans multiple mediums including film, photography, and installation art. Her artistic practice focuses on critical questions surrounding land ownership, community dynamics, mobility, and migration patterns. These themes reflect contemporary concerns about displacement, territorial disputes, and the impact of globalization on local communities.

The upcoming catalog will serve as more than just a visual documentation of Choi's work. The comprehensive volume will feature not only reproductions of her artistic pieces but also include scholarly essays written by respected researchers in the field of contemporary art and media theory. This academic component will provide readers with deeper insights into the conceptual frameworks and theoretical underpinnings of her artistic practice.

To celebrate the publication of "The Non-Statistical Body," a special conference accompanied by an exhibition will take place on October 8 at the Berlinische Galerie, a prestigious museum of modern art and architecture located in Berlin. The event will bring together an impressive lineup of art world professionals and scholars, including Siegfried Zielinski, professor emeritus of media theory at Berlin University of the Arts, who provided the conceptual framework for the catalog's title.

Other notable participants in the conference include Lee Soo-yeon, a curator at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea; Zoe Chun, who serves as both an independent curator and director of The Great Commission; independent curator Jesi Khadivi; art critic Kwak Yung-bin; and art critic Cho Hyeok. This diverse group of experts will provide various perspectives on Choi's work and its significance within contemporary art discourse.

The title "The Non-Statistical Body" was specifically chosen based on a concept that Zielinski developed in relation to Choi's body of work. This theoretical framework likely addresses how her art challenges conventional ways of measuring and categorizing human experience, particularly in relation to issues of displacement and territorial identity that feature prominently in her installations and video works.