Soyoung Chung
Chung’s works have been produced while pondering philosophical questions about time that the myriad materials surrounding our lives have passed through. Chung said she found a stone one day, and it inspired her to imagine the time of the Earth. Her interest spontaneously reached beneath the Earth’s surface (geology) she stood on and above it (geopolitics). Erosion and deposition serves as keys to understanding the universal history of creation and annihilation. It was when her imagination extended from soil to continents, from horizon to borders, from cities to islands, to become new weaving stories of individual, historical, natural memories. Chung has recently expanded her vision into oceanic spacetime (oceanography), where there would probably be no human soul, no human being, ever. From a human’s point of view, imagining the hadal zone amounts to calling for a spacetime in another dimension, just as moving into the universe, toward infinity. The artist put forward a long-time consideration reflecting on geological movement and oceanic epoch to face them as they are.
Depth. Swaying its body, Rolling (2020)’s steady black lines nestles in a white square room. Floating on the walls, Island for Fisherman (2021) balances on the tension between gravity and buoyancy. Making a semicircle, Return from Far Far Away (2021) covers the first, second and third floors. I strain my ear to hear the little, circular wisdoms drawn on the surface of the ocean.
Boundary. The horizon gives us homecoming comfort. It is probably because we have lived on the earth. Mirrors for Mirok Li (2021) drains off “the anxious water” and keeps the traces of memories, letting us contemplate someone who left home to be an emigrant during the turbulent days. With the cycle of the moon phases, what mirrors reflect in 29.5 Days (2021) is “the light of myself” through water along with time. Memories of the moon pull the waters. They call upon a geographic coordinate system for memorizing the ebbs and flows that change day by day. The tides disappear, and they are a record of the full stream remained on the mudflat.
Here. Physics principles in Chung’s artworks seem to be divided into both poles. But if their collisions could be unbreakable, and if their actions could be unseparated, we can probably mull over this: would it be possible for external principles and the internal forces to be operating at the same time in a “space,” and disappear? It is like ISA (2021) that moves on the invisible borders from the sea bottom to the dinner table. It is like Jet Lag (2021) that reveals continuity and discontinuity of life shown by a couple of the revolving doors playing as entrances and exits as well. It is, like, to say that our lives are made up of a series of “moments” of experiences.
Sea Cucumber, Manganese and Ear leads to daily life across the water and earth surfaces, starting from the deep sea that no human would reach. The exhibition becomes a reservoir for stories with warped matters and inflections of the eyes. The events of time are embellished with embossed and etched figures, and they infinitely move to “a certain place”, according to the properties of matter. They are no less than potential affairs, a preview of what’s coming next. The place would perhaps realize the flow of the time that nothing would be concluded. With Chung, what if you follow a point of view of the substances, instead of your eyes capturing the physical substances? The Earth is hidden behind the things around us. I strain my ears, again, to the orbital echoes coming from between the stratum lines and the ocean facets.
EDUCATION
2003 DNSAP, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris, France
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021
- Sea Cucumber, Manganse and Ear, One and J Gallery, Seoul
2020
- Glass Beach, Instant Roof, Seoul
2016
- Night and Day, Offsite Art Sonje, Seoul
2013
- Traveling without moving, D project sapce, Daelim museum of art, Seoul
2011
- On the ground floor of the Geology building, OCI museum of art, Seoul
2008
- Zero Construction, Project Space Sarubia, Seoul
2007
- A different kind of tension, Kumho Young Artist, Kumho museum of art, Seoul
2006
- Innerscape,Gallery Miss China Beauty, Paris
GROUP EXHIBITIONS (selected)
2021
- Time of the Earth, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary art, Gwacheon
- Matters to Life, MMCA, Changdong Residency, Seoul
- DMZ Peace and Art Platform, Inter-Korean Transit Office, Jejin Station, Goseong
- Margins of Error, Nirox Foundation, South Africa
- Border-less.Site, curated by Junglim foundation, Culture Station 284
- Artists Take-Over, Songeun Art Space, Seoul
2020
- Our Homecoming, Korean Cultural Centre, Hongkong
- Summer-Winter Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, U.K
- Two Mountains, Tiger1, Seoul
- Negotiating Borders, Fondation Fiminco, Romainville, France
- CAMP2020, Camp Long, Former US military base, Wonju
2019
Negotiating Borders, Korean Cultural Center, U.K. London
- The 14th International Curitiba Biennial, Curitiba, Brazil
- Power Play, Delfina Foundation, London
2018
- Genre Allegory-the Sculptural, Total Museum of Art, Seoul
- Cour des Miracles, Doosan Art Gallery, Seoul
- Gapado Project, Hyundai Card Storage, Seoul
- Delfina in SongEun: PowerPlay, SongEun Art Space, Seoul
- The Real DMZ, New Art Exchange, Nottingham, U.K
- Non-Sense Music II: Borders, KunstQuartier Bethanien, Berlin
2017
- Triangulating Particulars, HilbertRaum, Berlin
2016
- The 16th SongEun Art Award, SongEun Art Space, Seoul
- The Moon, round like a little place, Daegu Art Factory, Daegu
- APMAP 2016 Yongsan, Make Link, public art project organized by Amore Pacific Museum of art, Seoul
- Besiktas bahceve & cicek festvali, Ortaköy Yetimhanesi, Istanbul, Turkey
- Architectural Ceramics-Earth, Clayarch Museum, Gimhae
2015
- Re-Play:4 platforms and 17 events, Seoul Museum of art, Seoul
- Seoul, Vite, Vite, Renaissance-Lille 3000, Curated by Jean-Max Colard, Tripostal, Lille, France
- REAL DMZ: Dongsong Project, curated by SAMUSO, Dongsong, Cherowon and Art Sonje, Seoul
- Drift, One and J gallery, Seoul
- OCI YOUNG CREATIVES 5th Anniversary Exhibition, Sixth Sense, OCI Museum of art, Seoul
- Cristallisations – la naissance d’un ordre caché, Curated by Centre Pompidou Metz and Hermes Foundation, Musée du cristal Saint-Louis, France
- A Resonating Triangle, Arario Museum Dongmun Motel II, Jeju
- Salon de Sema : New Collection, Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea
2014
- Between waves, APMAP Jeju, Amore Pacific museum of art, O'sulloc green tea farm, Jeju
2013
- round project, gallery factory, Seoul
2012
- Galapagos, Ilmin museum of art, Seoul
- 10 Young Creators, D Project Space, Seoul
- Outskirt, publication project, Gallery Factory, Seoul
- Sparkling Secrets, Daelim Museum, Seoul
- 24 Wood sticks and a suitcase, LIG Art hall, Busan
- Seoul Anatomy, Nanji Art Studio Gallery, Seoul
- Sporadic Positioning, Arario Gallery, Cheonan
2011
- No.45 Kumho young artist, Kummho museum of art, Seoul
- Space Study, Plateau, Seoul
- Relay, Clayarch Gimhae Museum, Gimhae
2010
- Last Summer, Gallery Jungmiso, Seoul
- Dual Phase, Gallery Skape, Seoul
- Out of Line, Space Hamilton, Seoul
- What we found in an abandoned garage, two person show with Sandro Setola, Gallery Factory, Seoul
- Unrealized Projects_Architecture of Incompleteness, curating and participation, Space Hamilton, Seoul
2009
- Turning Up # 2, I M ART Gallery, Seoul
- Moving Museum, KumhoMuseum of art, Seoul
2008
- Propose 7 (vol.3), Kumho Museum of art, Seoul
- Salon de dessin, Paris
- Fiac, art fair, Paris
2007
- Outside perspective, Crawford Municipal Art Gallery, Cork, Ireland
- Open Studios 8, Ssamzie Space, Seoul
- Avalanches, space &bsp at La Générale, Paris
2006
- Apocalypse Now –Intrusion, &bsp at La Générale, Paris
- Cosmogonies, La Galerie, Centre d’art contemporain de Noisy le Sec, Noisy-le-sec
2005
- Multiprise2, Cité Internationale des arts, Paris
- Papier Peint, Fiac, stand Miss china beauty, Paris
- Nuit Blanche, Videobox, Paris
- Jeune création, Bellevilloise, Paris
- Waiting_workshop, Casino Luxembourg, forum d’art contemporain, Luxembourg
- Liaisons dangereuses, Miss china beauty, Paris
- Open Studio, Cité Internationale des Arts, Montmartre, Paris
- VidéoBox 3, Miss China Lunchbox, Paris
- Exposition Collective, Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris
2004
- Noir d’un jour, Miss China Beauty, Paris
- Première vue, Passage de Retz, Paris
- Nature Artificielle, Nuit Blanche, Bercy Village, Paris
- Maison/témoins, the store, Paris
PROJECTS
2019
- Matera Citta Aperta, installation/secenography for IAC, Centro Arti Integrate, Italy
2016
- Night and Day, Fluide collection #03, publication
2014
- How to survive in the forest, collaborative project with Arnauld Colcomb & Busy Rocks, Le Cyclop, Milly-la-foret, France
2013
- Vertical Horizons, Granbell Hotel, Tokyo
2010
- Map for Unrealized City, Art and Architecture Publication project, curating and participation, Take out Drawing
- Unrealized Projects _Architecture of Incompleteness, curating and Participation
2008-2009
- Nothing Too Much, project team_ curatorial and collaborative Projects
- Little Black Riding Hood, Space Hamilton
- Blind spot, Start Gallery
- Dark Cloud, Daily Projects
- The Stage, Creative Culture Space Kring
- The Concert, Bundang Central Park
- TK10Party, Tensta Konsthalle, Stockholm
2007
- Light house, public art project curated by Borderline Agency
- Art4Lux, forum and show organized by Pépinières for european young artists, Luxembourg
- Dimension Generale, art+architecture project team
- plan02, Maison de l’Architecture, Paris
- Competition, 9.11 memorial project for Pennsylvania,USA
RESIDENCIES
2021
- Changdong Residency, MMCA, South Korea
2020
- Seoul Art Space Geumcheon, Seoul, South Korea
2018
- Gapado Artist-in-Residence, Gapado, Jeju
2017
- ZK/U, Berlin
- Delfina Foundation, London
2014
- Le Cyclop, Milly-la-Foret, France
2012
- Nanji Art Studio Residency, Seoul
2011
- Clayarch Gimhae Museum, Gimhae
2007
- Short Period Residency at Ssamzie Space, Seoul
2006
- National Sculpture Factory, Cork, Ireland (Award MapXXL of Pépinières Européennes pour Jeunes Artistes)
2005
- Workshop_ Waiting, Casino Luxembourg, Forum d’art contemporain, Luxembourg
- One Year residency at La cité internationale des arts, Paris
COMMISSION
2021
- Rising Rain, Seoul public art commission, Gangdong-Gu, Seoul
2018
- Jahadam projet, public art commission by City of Seoul at Pedestrian bridge in Shinyoung Lottery, Seoul
- Growing Forest, Observatory Tower with Nameless Architecture, commission by the city of Seoul
2016
- Jeju Hanjit Renovation Project: Public art project, permanent installation, Jeju
2013
- Light Garden, public outdoor sculpture commissioned by city of Hamyang, Sanglim Forest, Hamyang
2011
- Light Tree, public outdoor sculpture production, Gyeonggi Kids Museum, Yongin
Mirror for Mirok Li, 2021
Silver mirror reaction on glasses, stainless steel
80 x 120 x 6 cm (each)
Amnok River, or Yalu River, is a river on the border between North Korea and China. Standing before the familiar-but-strange waters, I was looking for something to fill the unattended time. I tried to pick up memories one by one that were floating from the river. Long ago, there was a man whose name was Mirok Li (1899-1950). He, too, recorded his memories coming to his mind before the waters. He let the anxiety go, expecting the river to carry it away. He left home to keep away from the turmoil. In his book, The Yalu Flows, Li stood on Chinese soil to look back on his hometown across the Amnok River. An outbreak of the pandemic disease has widened the distance. It has also spreaded distrust in each other, and the anxiety has brought about new borders. The remoteness has become a bubble to be broken. Sprinkling a glass with a chemical mixture of water and nitric acid, ammonia water, potassium hydroxide and others leads to a reaction that results in a reflection of the light on the glass surface. The stagnant water mixture makes a landscape. The remaining water is turned into a flower. Losing the intention brings about new stories on the layer. I see myself between the stains and blemishes in the awkward scene.
29.5 Days, 2021
Aluminum, glasses, foreshore and transparent epoxy
320 x 100 x 10 (cm)
We went to Anmyeondo at a different time. I could enjoy some sea cucumbers and oysters that I bought from the fishermen. It was around noon. Sitting under beach umbrellas they were trimming the seafood. A couple of waves bumped into each other in between the two big low islands. It was where a road was open. About a couple of months later when Soyoung visited Anmyeondo, It was late afternoon right before the sunset. Ocean surface rises and drains away twice a day. This recurrent pattern, called ebb and flow, is shifted daily by a difference of 50 minutes per a day. It is because of the difference between the 24-hour Earth's rotation and the 29.5-days of revolution of the Moon. Soyoung brought the memories of low tides to the coordinate table, which had disappeared for the cycle of the moon, to records of the traces of high tides. She embossed space with the coordinate system and etched the traces of time. Looking at her reminded me of what Italo Calvino (1923-1985) said: “... all printed in negative in the dough of the void, so that there is nothing now that does not leave its print, every possible print of every possible thing, and together every transformation of these prints, instant by instant.”
Drawing an Island, 2020
Single Channel Video, 5’33’’(loop)
A gray and stormy sky reveals an islet. Sunken rocks are not the only ones in an oceanic uproar, in which the deep, high waves leave traces. There are actually those who believe 11,000 years ago the rocks were an edge of a continent. Myriad oceanic stories reach terra firma to permeate daily lives. To be an island, a rock reportedly refused the lunar gravity. Today, circular wisdom draws a soundless ripple.
Island for Fishermen, 2021
Buoy presumed to have floated out of the economic zone of Korea and China, Copper Dimensions variable
In the ocean between South Korea and China, there is an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in which both countries have the right to economic participation; and there is a territorial sea in which each country exerts sovereignty. Somewhere between them, there is a submerged rock, called Ieodo, two square kilometers in size. Given the location and the size, the little islet fails to legally earn the territorial status. So no one can claim dominion. South Korea constructed the Ieodo Ocean Research Station on the rock at 40 meters below the sea level to study oceanography. Strained diplomatic relations over the jurisdiction is manifested by ropes and a couple of buoys, possibly from their respective EEZs.
Rolling, 2020-21
Steel and powder coating
Dimensions variable
Deep time. Just as usual, an unknown path passes a boundary. Iron is one of the most widespread heavy metals that has been with humans for a long time. The quality of sturdiness allows iron to have flexible elasticity; and the quality of heaviness encourages it to plow ahead. The US Army Camp Long was established in 1955 to support the Korean Army. It had been closed since 2010, and it went back to the public in 2020. The military’s factitious orbit has returned to the cycle of nature. Who would then occupy the place to produce the memory? The spatial orbit based on time does not coincide with the time orbit based on space. Incompatibility of time and space becomes the engine of locomotion.
