Bio
박성환 Sung Hwan Bobby Park is a Tamaki Makaurau-based artist who has been working with ceramics and performance since 2016, exploring the relationship between objects and people. Sung Hwan graduated from Auckland University of Technology in 2020 and was recently (2023) the recipient of the Annual Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Springboard Award, as well as the Driving Creek Pottery Residency in 2021 – and was resident artist at the Glasgow St Arts Centre in Whanganu in 2019. Last year he was awarded the Hugo Charitable Trust Award (2023) and runner up at the National Contemporary Art Award (2023).
Sung Hwan’s most recent work explores identity – and in particular what it’s like to be it a queer individual in a heteronormative society – as well as an Asian living in a Pākehā colonised world. His ceramic bulletproof helmet series BTM (Bang Tan Mo) which started with his reflection on the impact of Korean military law 92-6 on members of the queer community. This military 92-6 strictly criminalizes homosexuality, and yet gay men are not exempt from mandatory conscription as stated in the Korean constitution. The sense of constant fear and anxiety for these men in their time of duty for their country is represented in these helmets. The supposed indestructible helmets do not protect them from the brutally homophobic and violent policies and culture within the institution and they may as well be wearing these fragile ceramic helmets during their service.