Honorary Reporters Logo
Jason Edwards – Interviews
Jiha Jeon portrait
© Jiha Jeon — Portrait
Jiha Jeon exhibition
© Jiha Jeon — Exhibition view

Exploring Jiha Jeon’s Artistic Approach within the Kunst IN Exhibition

This interview was done by email, as I didn’t have the chance to meet Jiha Jeon in person during the exhibition in Berlin. Still, it felt important to me to introduce the artists who took part in the event, so readers can better understand who they are and what they wanted to express through their work.

Jiha Jeon is a Korean media artist who works between Germany and Korea. His practice often focuses on long‑term themes, approached in a quiet and thoughtful way. For the Berlin exhibition, he presented a new series centered on the ornamental goldfish — a subject he has been connected to since childhood. Through this project, he looks at how beauty, selection, and human desire shape both living beings and the world around us.

Interview by Jason Edwards · June 10, 2026 · Berlin

Could you briefly introduce yourself to our readers and share what first inspired you to become an artist?

"Jiha Jeon: Hello, my name is Jiha Jeon, a media artist currently working between Germany and Korea. My inspiration to become an artist traces back to a school exhibition where I showed my drawings for the first time. That experience of sharing my work with others and feeling a connection through it — I think that is where it all began."

Your upcoming exhibition in Berlin is an important moment in your career. What themes or emotions do you explore in this new body of work?

"Jiha Jeon: This exhibition brings together works that explore the logic embedded in processes of selection and refinement. At the center of this inquiry is the ornamental goldfish: a creature shaped entirely by human desire, bred over centuries toward an ever‑shifting idea of the “rare” and the “beautiful.” The long history of goldfish breeding, in which humans have continuously selected and refined living beings according to their own aesthetic standards, feels strikingly familiar in an age where algorithms do much the same. Through this work, I hope to offer viewers a moment to reflect on how such logic has always been with us, and how it continues to quietly shape the world around us today."

Many of your artworks have a quiet, poetic atmosphere. How would you describe your artistic style in your own words?

"Jiha Jeon: I tend to explore a single theme over a long period of time, approaching it through different forms of expression and gradually refining it into something more condensed and poetic. I think it is this process that naturally gives the work its quiet and poetic quality."

What influences you the most in your creative process?

"Jiha Jeon: Personal experience influences me the most. Emotions and situations that were once hard to put into words often take on new meaning when I return to them later. I find myself weaving together those feelings, memories, and newly discovered truths in different ways. This project is no exception. Having kept goldfish since childhood, that personal connection became one of the starting points for exploring the much larger story behind them."

How do you feel about presenting Korean contemporary art to a European audience?

"Jiha Jeon: Korea is where I grew up, and it continues to be a deep source of inspiration for who I am and how I work. At the same time, I have always been drawn to art from many different cultures, and moving from Korea to Germany has naturally expanded my perspective further. I find that audiences today, wherever they are, have more and more opportunities to encounter art from different parts of the world, so the boundaries feel less defined than they once did. In that sense, I don't notice a significant difference in how people engage with my work. One thing I do notice is that Korean audiences tend to feel a particular familiarity with this project, perhaps because goldfish have long been a presence in both the history and everyday life of Korea."

Could you share a meaningful moment or challenge you experienced while preparing this exhibition?

"Jiha Jeon: While preparing this work, I had the chance to meet and speak with many different people connected to the world of goldfish — breeders, enthusiasts, and specialists. Each encounter was not always easy to arrange, but every one of them was deeply meaningful. I was truly grateful for the interest they showed in this project and for their generous support."

What message or feeling do you hope visitors will take away?

"Jiha Jeon: Goldfish are creatures most of us have grown up seeing, quietly present in the background of everyday life. Through this project, I encountered many different things surrounding goldfish that I had never expected. I hope my works offer a moment to share what I discovered, and perhaps to look at something familiar with fresh eyes."

Do you have any upcoming projects or dreams you would like to pursue?

"Jiha Jeon: Fixing the Rare is an ongoing project, and new stories will continue to unfold. While this exhibition focused on the breeder, future works will shift to other aspects of the same world, exploring the theme from different angles and perspectives. Ultimately, I hope to bring the entire project to a close with a solo exhibition dedicated to this theme."

With Fixing the Rare, Jiha Jeon uses a familiar subject to open a quiet reflection on beauty and the influence humans have on the living world.