Yang Jung Uk, Scenery of Dialogue No.2: Speaking of Something When the Sun Goes Down, 2018, Mixed media, 193 x 870 x 197 cm © Gallery Hyundai

From February 28 to March 27, Gallery Hyundai will host its first solo exhibition by artist Yang Jung Uk, 《We Placed the Photograph Taken Yesterday in Plain Sight》. This marks his first solo presentation at the gallery and features around ten installation works that explore the subtle, everyday moments encountered in relationships with others.

Yang’s work is fundamentally composed of two elements: the underlying narrative that forms its core and the visual embodiment of that narrative. The artist describes the stories in his work—present since his early pieces—as “tales worth telling to oneself” or “fictional stories born out of a desire to become a better person.” These stories, often inspired by ordinary scenes from daily life—such as a shop sign or people working while standing—are fused with imagined characters and situations, transforming into installations that appear ordinary yet are anything but.

What makes Yang’s work so compelling is his meticulous attention to how these narratives are visually conveyed. His intricate structural compositions, the interplay of varied materials, flickering lights, and the subtle yet deliberate movements of his pieces are perfectly balanced, drawing the viewer in at once. While these sensory elements serve as a kind of "bait" to captivate the audience, the essence of his work lies in the stories themselves. Since every piece begins with a written text before material choices come into play, the potential for his artistic practice to evolve through different mediums and materials remains open-ended.

In this new body of work, Yang reflects on his personal experiences with group photographs. The artist was struck by the realization that he had lost contact with everyone in a group photo he stumbled upon by chance. This led him to contemplate the transient nature of people coming together and drifting apart, which in turn inspired his latest work. The varied postures, expressions, and unprepared moments captured in group photos are reimagined through fictional narratives and materialized as installation pieces.

While Yang’s earlier works often used geometric and sculptural forms to reveal the essence of a story, this new series takes a different approach, employing masses that encapsulate entire scenes. At a time when we have grown more accustomed to social media selfies than to framed group portraits, these new works encourage reflection on the experiences and meanings associated with group photographs.

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