Polyc in London Saatchi Gallery_The Oulim 2023 Festival

Traditional Korean folk paintings, such as ‘Cheokhwa-do’, ‘Hojak-do’, and ‘Unryong-do’, are captured on four-panel folding screens and fill the screen of the Saatchi Gallery. This work, which will be exhibited at the NFT exhibition to be presented for the first time at Saatchi Gallery in 2023 is a selection of four traditional Korean folk paintings containing the nuances of the four seasons and reinterpreted them using artist Polyc's unique working method. A total of 4 ‘Unryong-do’ and ‘Hojak-do' paintings, created with polygon art and paper collage, were submitted in the form of a 4-panel folding screen. What is unique is that each work is a tattoo design.

Polyc, the artist who prepared this entry, is a famous tattoo artist in Korea. Polyc is an artist who is engaged in various activities to transform tattoos, which were prevalent in Korean society as a symbol of gangsterism, discomfort, and negative images, into a category of art. Unlike the work of other tattoo artists, his works range from two-dimensional works based on paper cutting to designs. He is an artist who presents tattoos as a comprehensive art form, including work and 3D work. Polygon art, which builds three dimensions on a flat surface, is one of his identities, and the name Polyc itself is a combination of polygon art and cubism.

Artist Polyc's work < Four Seasons > is scheduled to be sold at auction during the Saatchi Gallery exhibition. This is an unusual case for the first time that a tattoo design has been exhibited at Saatchi Gallery, a princess maker of British contemporary art. There is interest in whether this exhibition can once again prove the ‘art of today’ that Saatchi Gallery pursues as its philosophy.

Another unique feature of this entry is that the collector who receives the submitted NFT will be granted the NFT work as well as the right to receive a tattoo directly from Polyc using the materials used in the work. The completeness and uniqueness of Polyc's tattoo work is already famous, but recently, Jungkook's tattoo cover-up and BTS's friendship tattoo <7> have become known as Polyc's work, enjoying even more explosive popularity. It is said that Jungkook, who usually watches Polyc's work, first requested a tattoo consultation, so we are looking forward to seeing who will be the successful bidder of this unique auction.

This work was planned and curated by art tech marketing consulting firm Team 8 Partners as part of ‘The Oulim 2023 Festival’, a 2023 new technology convergence content world tour festival hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and KOCCA. Through this project, Kim & Kheem Partners is attracting attention as a novel project that combines art, performance, and technology.

'The Moon Labs', which is in charge of overseeing this event, is the operator of LM Project, which aims to be the global No. 1 Web 3.0 project, and is introducing 'LM NOVA', a Web 3,0 creator fandom community platform, and 'playNomm', an NFT marketplace. All NFTs for this event will be available for purchase starting October 26th at the marketplace playNomm.

The Work

<Four Seasons>

Based on a series of traditional Korean folk paintings that depict the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter, ‘Four Seasons’ has been reinterpreted in Polyc's distinctive polygon art style. The reinterpretations of Cheokhwa-do (spring), Unryong-do (summer), Ilwol-obong-do (autumn), and Hojak-do (winter) are all transformed into tattoo designs by Polyc's skilled hand.

The collector who acquires the NFT will not only own the artwork but will also receive the privilege of getting a tattoo directly from the tattoo artist Polyc using the materials featured in the artwork.

The Artist

Polyc

Polyc is a Korean tattoo artist who is known for his use of polygon art in his work. His tattoos are often colorful and intricate, and they often feature geometric shapes and patterns. POLYC is an advocate for transforming the connotation associated with tattoos, which were once seen as symbols of discomfort, and negativity, into a category of art.

Unlike many tattooists who only express themselves through 'tattoos engraved on the body', POLYC's tattoos start from flat works. He uses methods based on paper cutting, tattoos as design, and comprehensive art in continuous forms. Through these series of production, POLYC aims to inform the public more about tattoos, including what visual arts the artist pursues and how created images are engraved on the body.