KISS ME DEADLY - SIMON MORLEY - IN CONVERSATION WITH LEE JOON - GLOBALISATION - HISTORICAL/AHISTORICAL

Aug 25, 2026

Interview text exploring how Simon Morley positions his art and writing within globalisation while addressing enduring cognitive and cultural differences between Western and East Asian worldviews. It discusses hybrid “glocal” cultures, analytic versus holistic/monistic conceptions of mind and heart, and how unfamiliar Korean materials and techniques (including hanji) extend his practice. It also contrasts historical and “ahistorical” thinking, referencing critiques of essentialism, notions of Orientalism, and how perception research reframes cognition as embodied construction.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages68

Reading Time1 h 45 min

AccessFree to download

GLOBALISATION

HISTORICAL/AHISTORICAL

S I M O N M O R L E Y KISS ME DEADLY SIMON MORLEY IN CONVERSATION WITH LEE JOON Lee Joon is Deputy Director, Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art GLOBALISATION LEE JOON(LJ) Even as we live in an era of globalisation, cognitive differences between Westerners and East Asians remain. Since moving to Korea, you have approached such cultural differences through your work, and are especially interested in the concept of void in East Asian art, You're a writer as well as an artist, and in the book you edited, The Sublime: Documents in Contemporary Art (2010), you re-published part of one of my texts on void in Korean art, making implicit connections between East Asian and Western concepts. You've also used some new techniques in your work since coming to Korea, including working on hanji and mounting works in East Asian formats. How do you locate your works in the context of Western and East Asian culture? SIMON MORLEY(SM) I've been living most of the time in Korea since 2010, and I know I've brought with me all my preconceptions from the'old world' . But I've come with a willingness to have them questioned and overturned by my encounter with the 'unknown' . But this is an'unknown' that nowadays is threaded through with the familiar. The odd experience on first arriving in South Korea was that things seemed relatively familiar ; it was only after a time that they became profoundly strange. American technological consumer culture binds us all superficially together, but it's only a veneer. As a result, we're living in hybrid cultures – or 'glocal' cultures as they've been called. This difference and sameness – which I try to explore in my art and writing – reflect the intermingling of once profoundly contrasting 'takes' on the world – what has been described as the 'holistic' and the 'analytic' world-views. I belong to an'analytic' culture, and this has many implications for the way I think and lead my life, and of course it determines the kind of art I was educated to appreciate and make. Nowadays, here in Korea, we can still find plenty of evidence to show that things are thought, and therefore done, differently – from within a 'holistic' consciousness. For instance, if I say 'mind', I tend to mean something that is disconnected from the body (it might even be something located physically in the cerebrum), while you, as a Korean, will almost certainly consider the translation of this word into your language as referring to something that includes your body, or specifically, your heart. This is because you belong to a culture in which the concept of mind and heart are interchangeable. This represents no small difference, exposing very clearly the contrast between my dualistic, 'analytic' way of being and your monistic 'holistic' one. To answer the practical question about materials and techniques: In adopting some traditional Korean materials I've been interested to see what happens when I use unfamiliar means that come carrying a specific cultural baggage. I've just tentatively tried to extend my repertoire. But I have no intention of 'going native'! How could I? On the other hand, I am very interested indeed in certain historically inscribed concerns that are neglected in my own culture. Installation view of Kiss Me Deadly , Gallery Baton, Seoul, 2015 4 HISTORICAL/AHISTORICAL LJ But I feel that through your works you emphasise the fact that despite these cultural differences there are ways of seeing that are universal. SM My studies in Modern History before becoming an artist mean, I think, that I've a rather developed sense of the historical context, and today, more than ever, the 'historical'confronts the 'ahistorical', or to use a more overtly denigrating term, the 'essentialist'. Claims for anything that might be deemed 'ahistorical' are often tagged methodologically suspect, and generalizations about human nature are understood to be distortions serving ideological goals. The value of referring to somethi

FAQs

How does Simon Morley describe cultural difference under globalisation?

He argues that even when globalization superficially unites people through technology and consumer culture, deep cognitive styles remain shaped by cultures over time, producing hybrid “glocal” realities.

What does Morley mean by analytic versus holistic cultural worldviews?

He contrasts a dualistic, analytic approach—where “mind” is often separated from the body—with a monistic holistic one, where mind and heart can be interchangeable and body-inclusive.

How does Morley use Korean materials and techniques in his practice?

He adopts traditional Korean materials to see what happens when unfamiliar methods carry specific cultural baggage, carefully extending his repertoire without aiming to fully “go native.”

What tension does the dialogue raise between historical and “ahistorical” approaches?

Morley notes that claims associated with “ahistorical” thinking are often treated as methodologically suspect, while he frames the debate through perceptions that cognition is embodied and reality is constructed.

Aug 25, 2026

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