A Hidden Face : Migrant Ambassadors for South Korea

Public installation, digital portrait, documentary film - Printed fabric, projection installation, custom computer vision technology. Ansan, Korea. In conjunction with Asia Art Festival (2014).

Artwork installation : The Bite Back Movement (Alexander Augustus / Seung youn Lee).

Computer vision engineer : Jack Greenhalgh.

These portraits are made from hundreds of Indonesians, Sri Lankans and Cambodians living and working in South Korea. We believe these brilliant people are the true Ambassadors for their countries, making contact and opening the doors to new cultures in South Korea.

Migration is changing the face of South Korea. However, migrant workers are far from integrated into mainstream society, and are still waiting for a formal introduction. The Bite Back Movement worked with hundreds of immigrants from Cambodia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka to create their own ambassadors. The faces created were then printed on 21 1x2m banners across the city of Daejeon for Asia Art Festival 2014. These three faces visually announce the presence of these people in Korea, and represent the sum total of the project’s participants.

Many thanks to our great friends Tharu and Sal who welcomed us into their homes, and supported us this project