Rasta Tiger Den

EVENT DESCRIPTION

Welcome to Suitman’s Rasta Tiger’s Den!

Artist Suitman puts on his music selector’s hat, sharing music via his latest mobile sound system!

Korean American artist Suitman aka Young Kim emigrated with his family from Seoul to New York when he was ten. Kim then grew up and worked in the U.S. until the 90’s. New York City was a dangerous place during the early ’80s.

The atmosphere was filled with tension and violence. Everyone was on edge, except for an old Italian man in Kim’s neighborhood. Every weekend, the old man would set up a folding table on the sidewalk where he placed a plate of pasta, a bottle of wine, and a boombox. He sat down, played some music, and enjoyed his meal. Over time, he became a fixture of the neighborhood. It was a breath of fresh air amid the gloom surrounding the era. That was Kim’s inspiration to create a mobile sound system and to share his music.

Kim designed his first mobile sound system over a decade ago. Since spending most of his time in Hong Kong during the pandemic, Kim created and handcrafted a new version of mobile sound system.

Kim says, ‘The pandemic isolated us all. We are gradually recovering from the pandemic. I hope that bringing mobile music to people can hold our community closer together again.’ That is the initiative of Kim and his team’s Love & Unity Tour – taking the mobile sound system to the U.S. and touring from Los Angeles to New York City – starting a new chapter by sharing music as well as positive vibes with all walks of life. This tour is also a tribute to the old man in NYC back in the 80’s.

Love & Unity Tour will kickstart with an installation exhibition ‘Rasta Tiger Den’ at Soho House Hong Kong from 7 May 2022.

The theme of the exhibition is Korean Vintage music market. Aside from Kim’s own work, his collection of vintage sound system and Korean retro vinyl record will also be showcased. There will be a pop- up store with limited edition products in collaboration with Sticky Monster Lab, Balansa Busan and Kompakt Record Bar, Seoul.

The sales of the products will go towards funding Love & Unity Tour. Amongst all, the highlight of Kim’s new creation is the first Suitman vinyl ‘ A man with yellow glasses’, which is produced by an arena of international names such as Arthur Bray/Yeti Out, Silent Poets, Soulscape and Sora Metzger Lopez.

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

Suitman is a living art created by Korean Artist Young Kim thirty years ago. Together, Young and Suitman have traveled through six continents, over thousands of destinations interacting with all walks of life, gathering inspiration for their work.

Their work consists of photography, film, installations, performances, and design objects that are insightful, personal, highly engaging, and always surprising. Young and Suitman together have been published in a wide range of culture, art, and lifestyle publications.

They have exhibited solo and group exhibitions in museums and galleries in New York, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Shanghai, Beijing, and other cities. During the Pandemic, Suitman put on his music selector's hat and created a new mobile DJ system, Rasta Tiger Dub Truck to share his favourite music with music lovers via online radio shows and public performances.