EN | FR
“I observe the world as if I were looking at the stars, and I also see the stars through the world. My research begins with small discoveries and expands into a macroscopic perspective, creating a contrast between what is infinitely distant and what is close at hand.”
Daeseok An constructs a complex and poetic visual environment shaped by scientific and cosmological inquiry.
His practice explores the origins of the universe and the laws that govern it, tracing a path that seeks to connect human beings with their beginnings through the gaze of a child looking up at the night sky. At the core of his work is an effort to bring together cosmic perspective, personal experience, and imagination in order to create multilayered and spatial narratives.
An’s approach resembles the process of constructing science fiction. What makes science fiction compelling is its capacity to reflect complexity through imagination. Yet within the microscopic world and the vast scale of the universe, physical concepts that transcend time, space, and dimension often appear profoundly unreal. From this tension emerges a sense of dissonance, born from the blurred boundary between reality and unreality. For the artist, it is precisely this dissonance that gives rise to complex poetic emotion.
To articulate this perspective, An employs optical devices in photographic prints and image projections. The lens becomes a medium that connects us to the microscopic world, producing a tension between what is infinitely distant and what lies immediately before us.
When observing astronomical objects, the artist considers the fleeting experience of forming a personal connection with the universe to be more significant than the discovery of visually spectacular celestial bodies. Images produced today by space agencies are reconstructed through multiple processes and often become overwhelmingly beautiful and captivating. Yet while such images may be enough to evoke a vague illusion of the universe, they also risk fixing it into a static and predetermined form. In actual observation, the universe does not appear with clarity, but it leaves an extraordinarily powerful impression.
As Carl Sagan writes in Cosmos¹, “Humans and the universe are connected in the most fundamental way.” With this in mind, An develops his work through discoveries drawn from geography, historical records, natural phenomena, and personal experience. He projects the expansion of the universe onto clouds formed by smoke rising from a nuclear power plant², and imagines the continuity of space-time through crystallized limestone³, where the distant past and the present intersect. This movement of thought traverses external reality and the inner microscopic world, ultimately leading to questions about our origins. In the end, the exploration of the universe becomes a way of understanding the foundations of humanity. As Sagan suggests, not only the major events of human history, but also the smallest and seemingly most insignificant ones, are rooted in the origin of the universe that surrounds us.
1. Carl Sagan, Cosmos, États-Unis, Random House, 1980
2. Daeseok AN, Univers lointain, 2022
3. Daeseok AN, Cronoscope, 2023
Daeseok An constructs a complex and poetic visual environment shaped by scientific and cosmological inquiry.
His practice explores the origins of the universe and the laws that govern it, tracing a path that seeks to connect human beings with their beginnings through the gaze of a child looking up at the night sky. At the core of his work is an effort to bring together cosmic perspective, personal experience, and imagination in order to create multilayered and spatial narratives.
An’s approach resembles the process of constructing science fiction. What makes science fiction compelling is its capacity to reflect complexity through imagination. Yet within the microscopic world and the vast scale of the universe, physical concepts that transcend time, space, and dimension often appear profoundly unreal. From this tension emerges a sense of dissonance, born from the blurred boundary between reality and unreality. For the artist, it is precisely this dissonance that gives rise to complex poetic emotion.
To articulate this perspective, An employs optical devices in photographic prints and image projections. The lens becomes a medium that connects us to the microscopic world, producing a tension between what is infinitely distant and what lies immediately before us.
When observing astronomical objects, the artist considers the fleeting experience of forming a personal connection with the universe to be more significant than the discovery of visually spectacular celestial bodies. Images produced today by space agencies are reconstructed through multiple processes and often become overwhelmingly beautiful and captivating. Yet while such images may be enough to evoke a vague illusion of the universe, they also risk fixing it into a static and predetermined form. In actual observation, the universe does not appear with clarity, but it leaves an extraordinarily powerful impression.
As Carl Sagan writes in Cosmos¹, “Humans and the universe are connected in the most fundamental way.” With this in mind, An develops his work through discoveries drawn from geography, historical records, natural phenomena, and personal experience. He projects the expansion of the universe onto clouds formed by smoke rising from a nuclear power plant², and imagines the continuity of space-time through crystallized limestone³, where the distant past and the present intersect. This movement of thought traverses external reality and the inner microscopic world, ultimately leading to questions about our origins. In the end, the exploration of the universe becomes a way of understanding the foundations of humanity. As Sagan suggests, not only the major events of human history, but also the smallest and seemingly most insignificant ones, are rooted in the origin of the universe that surrounds us.
1. Carl Sagan, Cosmos, États-Unis, Random House, 1980
2. Daeseok AN, Univers lointain, 2022
3. Daeseok AN, Cronoscope, 2023
Daeseok AN | Visual artist
Daeseok AN is a Korean artist born in 1984, based in Metz, France. A former office worker, he retrained as an artist to explore sensitive forms that connect science, memory, and the cosmos. A graduate of ÉSAL Metz (Master’s degree in Fine Arts with highest honors), he develops a practice that combines photography, optical lenses, sound, video, and natural phenomena. He has exhibited in France, Belgium, and Germany.
EDUCATION
2021 - 2023
MFA (option COM) with Jury’s Highest Honors / Higher School of Art of Lorraine, Metz, FR.
2019 - 2021
BA (option COM) with Jury’s Highest Honors / Higher School of Art of Lorraine, Metz, FR.
2018 - 2019
BA (option ART) / Higher School of Art of Aix-en-Provence, Aix-en-Provence, FR.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025
Panta rhei - Everything Flows / Abbadia, le Château Observatoire, Hendaye, FR.
2022
Univers Lointain / Octave Cowbell, Metz, FR.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024
PARALLAXE / SEE Gallery, Paris, FR.
2023
L’accumulation des coins privés et serrés me fait venir ici / La Réserve, Bordeaux, FR.
Est-ce que nous nous sommes déjà rencontrés ? / Phare Citadelle, Strasbourg, FR.
CARTE DE VISITE / Galerie de l’ÉSAL, FR.
PÉTRICHOR / CACLB, Étalle, BE.
2022
Creartathon / Le BIS-ENSCi, Paris, FR.
La nuit remue / Site de la Heidenkirche, Butten, FR
Pangée / Jardin botanique, Metz, FR.
Particule / Puzzle, Thionville, FR.
2021
BLX / Porte des Allemands, Metz, FR.
PARTICIPATIONS
2023
Makerland / Bliiida, Metz, FR.
RESIDENCIES / GRANTS
2025
Research & Creation Residency / NEKaTOENEa - CPIE Littoral basque, Hendaye, FR.
2023
JEUNES ESTIVANTS / Bout d’essais, Metz, FR.
CATALOGUES
Cocosmos, edition of Octave Cowbell’s 20th anniversary, Metz, 2023.