The South Korean, Berlin-based artist Yunchul Kim has been awarded the Collide International Award. The prize, now in its fifth year, is administered by the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (Cern) with a revolving partner. For the next three years, that collaborator is the UK’s Foundation for Art and Creative Technology (Fact) in Liverpool.
The prize includes 15,000 Swiss francs, a fully funded, two-month residency at Cern in Geneva and another month’s residency in Liverpool. During this time, the artist will work on a project titled Cascade that “looks at the possibility of controlling the propagation of light through colloidal suspensions of photonic crystals”, according to a release. Photonic crystals, which can bend light to create an opalescent or rainbow effect, are used in reflective coatings on lenses and colour-changing paints.
Yunchul Kim often deals with the history and science of physics. In a 2012 exhibition at the Ernst Schering Foundation in Berlin, he presented a group of electrochemical drawings and fluid-kinetic sculptures that drew on the ideas of the Swiss theoretical physicist Walther Ritz.
In a statement, the prize jury said: “Yunchul Kim is fascinated with the phenomena and nature of dynamic materials through an arts practice above and beyond scientific research. The sculptural nature of Yunchul Kim’s work creates uncanny experiences, which at times seem beyond belief, and challenge our understanding of the world as both analytic and embodied.”
The artist's proposal was among 904 entries from 71 countries. The Mexican artist Julieta Aranda and the British artist James Bridle were given honorary mentions.
