Hong Sungchul has focused on “anxiety,” which originates from the ontological incompleteness inherent in our lives. Moreover, he not only embraces anxiety as an existential condition of human beings, but also understands it as a primary driving force that propels a dynamic life. This perspective has been expressed both comprehensively and consistently across a wide range of media and formats, including not only conventional sculptural works but also strings, video, and performance.
 
In recent years, he has been producing wall-mounted works in which countless strings bearing transferred images are arranged within metal frames, as well as spatial installations in which rods—composed of small hexagonal aluminum units onto which images are transferred instead of strings—are layered to form shapes suspended in midair.

In the former, hundreds of thin elastic strings are connected between perforated upper and lower sections of an iron frame, and photographic images of body parts—particularly hands—are transferred onto each individual string and woven together. The latter installations are similar in their formal realization, but instead of relying on a frame, the units connect and proliferate like cells, forming their own structures and architecturally assembling into independent systems. This process operates on a principle similar to that of digital images, in which numerous pixels come together to construct a complete image.
 
In both types of work, the human hand is prominently emphasized. Among the five human senses, touch—mediated by the hand—is a highly direct mode of perception; however, the hands depicted in these works cannot be touched and must only be seen, thereby signifying an absence of communication. Furthermore, while the image of the hand appears as a clear silhouette when viewed from a distance, it becomes increasingly indiscernible up close as multiple layers overlap, and the trembling of the installed lines produces a subtle emotional resonance.

This can also be understood as referring to the fragmentation of the self and the problem of communication between these divided selves. Such optical effects hinder the clear grasp of substance, reflecting the artist’s existential confession: that the meaning of the self cannot be closed in upon itself, but is endlessly deferred and postponed, and that its ultimate substance and meaning can never be fully grasped.

References

• 《Through the Lines》