A new exhibition at Podo Museum on Jeju Island brings together 13 international artists to explore themes of human vulnerability and compassion in an increasingly divided world. "We, Such Fragile Beings" offers visitors a contemplative space to reflect on our shared humanity while providing comfort to those experiencing grief, whether directly or indirectly.
The exhibition was conceived as a response to the ongoing conflicts and divisions that characterize modern life. "Distrust, jealousy and endless desires drive us to fight and wound each other. Wars take place one after another across the globe, claiming the lives of innocent civilians," the exhibition concept states. "We often forget how fragile and small human beings are in the vast universe."
Chloe Kim, executive director of Podo Museum, explained the philosophical foundation behind the show during a press conference on Friday. "While preparing for this exhibition, I reflected on how we often get caught up in the struggles and conflicts of everyday life," Kim said. "If we can expand the common denominator, whether through religion, music or any experience that transcends our immediate concerns, we can see those daily challenges from a much broader perspective."
Among the featured works is "Drawings on Newspaper" by Japanese artist Sumi Kanazawa, an installation that appears to be a curtain displaying countless stars and planets from the Milky Way. The piece actually consists of newspapers covered with densely drawn lines created using soft, dark 10B pencils. Events from different times and dates become visible where the pencil has skipped over sections, creating a meditative experience that highlights the countless simultaneous occurrences in our vast universe.
Lebanese artist Annabel Daou presents "When in the Course of Human Events," a scroll-like installation that unfurls from the gallery wall and spills onto the floor. The work takes its name from the opening phrase of the American Declaration of Independence, but transforms its urgent call to action into something more personal and universal. Hundreds of sentences written in white correction fluid on black microfiber by ordinary people continue the famous phrase with expressions of basic human needs, hopes, and desires "to breathe deeply, to reach out and to hold back tears."
Daou, who is based in New York, began developing this work in 2019 during a period of global protests. "I had this kind of sense that this was the moment, a pivotal moment," she explained. "I started asking people to complete the sentence, and what was really interesting to me is that it was the sense of excitement – the possibility of rewriting or adapting the form of this US document that was written by wealthy white men and to put it in the voice of people across the world."
Korean artist Lee Wan's "Proper Time" transforms a white hallway in the museum into an immersive temporal experience. The space is filled floor to ceiling with 560 white clocks, each bearing a name, job, and country. The sound of their collective ticking resembles falling rain, but each clock operates at a different speed according to a specific formula.
"There is a formula for calculating the speed of the clocks," Lee Wan explained. "By entering data from the people I interviewed, such as their income, the cost of living in their country and how much they pay for a single meal, I was able to determine the pace of time for each person." He emphasized that these speeds are not static, noting that "the speed of time for everyone represented in the clocks will continue to flow as it does at this very moment."
The exhibition extends beyond the museum's interior walls with Robert Montgomery's outdoor installation. Using light-emitting diode bulbs, the work spells out the message: "Love is the revolutionary energy that annihilates the shadows and collapses this distance between us." This luminous statement serves as both a beacon of hope and a call for human connection.
The press conference on Friday featured several of the participating artists, including Kim Han-young, Sho Shibuya, Annabel Daou, Lee Wan, and Boo Ji-hyun, who discussed their contributions to the exhibition's exploration of human fragility and resilience.
"We, Such Fragile Beings" will run through August 8, 2026, at the Podo Museum, which is owned by SK Group. The extended run allows visitors ample time to engage with these profound reflections on human vulnerability and the universal experiences that connect us all, regardless of our differences.
