Mixed media / Site-A Gallery Beneath the Railway in Koganecho, Yokohama / Ziu Suh
This work was inspired by the architecture seen while walking along the Ōoka River in Yokohama. Additionally, I incorporated images and text commonly found on Japanese signs and reflected sculptural elements from building structures.
Curatedby : Heeyoon Jung / Installation : Bongseok Choi / Graphic Design : Donghyeon Kim, Jijin / Photography : Yongbin Lee
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The Only Chorokyi under the Overpass, commissioned for the exhibition, is based on the research into the roof tiles of Kim Changdae Jewajang and the tiling technique of Lee Geunbok Bunwajang. The artist recalls the architectural structure of Hanok from the landscape of Seongsu-dong, where there are many overpasses and pillars. The overpasses parallel to the ground are structures connecting places to places through the architectural structures installed in the air. Dozens of vertical pillars below them support the overpasses, casting a big shadow over the Seongsu-dong area. The scene resembles the Hanok roof, with thousands of roof tiles laid out in a long row, and grid-like wooden structures of Hanok that support the weight. When standing under the overpasses that run through Seongsu-dong, the artist felt as if he were standing under the eaves of a Hanok, made with wooden pillars and rafters. The artwork, depicting the cityscape with noticeable overpasses, adopts the techniques of the Jewajang, who makes roof tiles by firing clay, and the Bunwajang, who connects the tiles one by one. On the wooden structure resembling a Hanok, several Amkiwas (concave tiles) were placed in vertical layers, with gaps filled with earth and fragments collected from specific areas installed within. As time passes, the fragmented landscapes of the past within the exhibition recreate the current landscape in a new way.
Curated by, Lee Boyeong / Exhibition Coordinator, Seo Naim
Profile of Time and Space (Suh Ziu)
4 or 5 years ago, I had visitors who came to see me as part of some historical tour program in which several areas of this neighborhood were bundled into a single course. The tour started at Dodangteo (site of Zelkova God worship) near Sadang Station, and passing through me, visited the only site of Baekje ceramic kiln in Seoul, and the tomb of Lee Kyung-jik, a civil servant in the mid-Joseon period. The area around Sadang Station, where I am located, is currently Seoul's transportation hub as well as a place where traces of history can be found piled up everywhere.
In fact - if you pay just a little attention to the surroundings where humans live - history, society, and traces and stories of someone can be read from within. For instance, in the process of dismantling and assembling the wooden pillars and beams in the attic space while I was being moved, parts of the wood that were rotten or frail were replaced with new wood, and these parts are different in color even now. As such, buildings have various clues which are only visible to those who take a closer look.
In his early 20s and new to society, S is looking for a job to settle down while working part-time. After moving to Seoul from the provinces, he has found a semi-basement for rent. Upon removing the wallpaper of the old semi-basement that was moldy due to poor ventilation, an unevenly constructed concrete surface was revealed. A rough and ignorant feeling, with walls and floors that are not even level. S thinks the rough, protruding concrete wall looks like a portly sack of rice. Searching on the Internet, he finds that a building code was created in the 1970s requiring an underground bomb shelter in preparation for a possible war, which is the beginning of the creation of semi-basement spaces. In the semi-basements, windows are hung above people's eye level in order to get as close to the ground surface as possible. So, he often has to smell unwanted fumes or the unpleasant sewers. Still, having eye contact with the neighborhood stray cat, whom S has named Tok-tok, is a small pleasure.
Text Sohyeon Bang, Curator / Minji Jin, Coordinator
Ttukdo-ri features three-dimensional structures representing the actual environment of the Seongsu-dong area, including its architectures and landscapes. The selected works for this exhibition intricately present the history of the area intertwined with the sculptures. The title ‘Ttukdo’ is an old name for ‘Ttukseom,’ referring to the Seongsu area where Han river and Jungrang stream intersect. The artist resided near the Yeongdong Bridge and closely observed the surroundings, examining the area's distinct geographical and environmental characteristics through architectural features such as the overpasses, Seongsu Bridge, and old factory buildings made with red bricks. Her sculptures present the grand and fragmented narratives hidden in the landscapes of the Seongsu area, visualizing both its present and its past.
Curated by, Lee Boyeong / Exhibition Coordinator, Seo Naim
Jahamun / Gugi / Bugak / cement, wood, LED lighting, AC motor / 2023
<High Wall> is an installation work that reenacts the viewpoint captured at the placial characteristic of Segeomjeong. It shares the artist’s own experience and perspective by staging the massive structure that is physically present in a museum at Pyeongchangdon with high ceiling and wide space. “Damjang” is a vertical structure that erects a wall outside of the building to protect the private space and prevent any external invasion separating inside and outside. The artist studies the residences outside the museum at Pyeongchangdong and inspired by the visual findings from wall structure of surrounding homes. The work mirrors the borders between damjang’s inside and outside, and between the three tunnels that connect the region.