Shelagh Vainker, professor at the University of Oxford and curator of Chinese art at the Ashmolean Museum, reviews Lee Jin-joon’s doctoral dissertation, written on a 10-meter-long (33-feet) hanji (traditional mulberry paper) scroll. [KAIST]
A Korean doctoral dissertation that turns reading into a physical journey — inviting viewers to walk along a 10-meter (32.8-foot) scroll — has been acquired for permanent display by the Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford, in a rare recognition of both academic research and artistic form.
The work, printed on a scroll made of
hanji
(traditional mulberry paper), reimagines the conventional thesis format as a physical, immersive experience.
The Ashmolean Museum has purchased and will permanently exhibit the 2020 doctoral dissertation of Lee Jin-joon, a professor at KAIST’s Graduate School of Culture Technology, according to KAIST on March 26. The acquisition is unusual, as the museum rarely collects doctoral theses, particularly those by living contemporary artists.
Founded in 1683, the Ashmolean Museum is the world’s first university museum and houses works by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.
Lee, who is also a media artist, titled his dissertation “Empty Garden — A Liminoid Journey to Nowhere in Somewhere.” The work reinterprets
uiwon
— a concept referring to an imaginary garden cultivated in the mind by scholars of the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) — through contemporary digital technology. It explores how human senses and memory can be restored beyond technological systems in the age of AI and data.
The concept is reflected in the dissertation’s physical format. The work was produced on nine hanji scrolls stretching a total of 10 meters. As readers move along the scroll, they experience the act of “walking” through an East Asian garden. “It was designed to be read not just through text, but through movement and reflection,” KAIST said. One of the nine scrolls will be permanently housed and displayed at the museum.
Lee Jin-joon’s doctoral dissertation lies at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin at the University of Oxford in 2020. [KAIST]
Doctoral dissertations at the University of Oxford are typically archived in the Bodleian Libraries as academic materials, and Lee’s work is also available in digital form. In 2020, the dissertation received unanimous approval with no revisions during his doctoral defense in fine arts at Oxford. Separately, the museum conducted an independent review over five years before deciding to acquire the work for its artistic and scholarly value.
Shelagh Vainker, curator of Chinese art at the Ashmolean Museum and a professor at the University of Oxford, found that the long, contemplative scroll opens new horizons.
Lee reflected deeply on “movement and stillness” while writing the dissertation, having been confined to a wheelchair at the time due to a leg injury.
A photo of Lee Jin-joon, a media artist and professor at KAIST [KAIST]
“I hope that, by being housed in a major museum, this work will serve as a point of reference connecting Eastern modes of thought — including those from Korea — with new sensory frameworks in the age of AI,” he said.
Lee, the first artist appointed as a full-time professor at KAIST, is currently a visiting professor at Exeter College, Oxford, and an adjunct professor at New York University.
As a media artist, he has also gained attention for projects such as a space art project titled “Good Morning, Mr. G-Dragon,” based on iris data from K-pop artist G-Dragon, and an AI-based media installation titled “Cine Forest: Fairy Tale,” installed at Bundang Central Park, Gyeonggi.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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