Solo Exhibitions (Brief)

Hwayeon Nam’s notable solo exhibitions include 《Gabriel》(2022, Atelier Hermes, Seoul), 《Mind Stream》(2020, Art Sonje Center, Seoul), 《Abdominal Routes》(2019, Kunsthal Aarhus, Denmark), 《Imjingawa》(2017, Audio Visual Pavilion, Seoul), 《Time Mechanics》(2015, ARKO Art Center, Seoul) among others.

Group Exhibitions (Brief)

Hwayeon Nam has participated in numerous group exhibitions, including 《Back to the Future: An Exploration of Contemporaneity in Korean Contemporary Art》(2023, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea), 《History Has Failed Us, but No Matter》(2019, The 58th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy), 《Asia Focus 2018》(2018, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Seoul, Seoul, Korea), 《Collection Highlights: Simultaneous Moments》(2018, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon, Korea), 《The 56th Venice Biennale》(2015, Venice, Italy), 《Spaces for Drawing》(2013, Hite Collection, Seoul, Korea), 《H Box》(2011, Art Sonje Center, Seoul, Korea), 《Oblique Strategies》(2010, Kukje Gallery, Seoul, Korea), 《Now Jump!, Station 2》(2008, Nam June Paik Art Center, Yongin, Korea), and 《Somewhere in Time》(2006, Art Sonje Center, Seoul, Korea).

Awards (Selected)

In 2024, Hwayeon Nam has received Ilwoo Art Award from Ilwoo foundation.

Originality & Identity

Hwayeon Nam has consistently explored the irreversibility and enigmatic nature of time, as well as the latent potential of existence that lingers faintly within the flow of time. In her early works, she critically addressed the fragmentation of time and the rupture of narrative by constructing political narratives around historical events, thereby visualizing the discontinuity of memory and existence.

In Operational Play 2009 Utrecht(2009) and Operational Play 2009 Seoul(2009), she drew inspiration from Gulf War operation codes to develop a multi-layered temporal narrative where the memory of war intersects with personal stories. Through these works, Nam visualized a complex interplay of history and memory rather than adhering to a single temporal narrative structure.

After her participation in 《The 56th Venice Biennale》(2015), Nam deepened her exploration of temporal layering and cyclicality, constructing new temporalities at the intersections of past and present, history and myth. In The Botany of Desire(2014-2015), she recontextualized the 17th-century Dutch tulip mania by interweaving economic desire with biological temporality, presenting a non-linear reconstruction of this historical event. In Throbbing Dance(2017), she revealed the translatability and layered temporality of images by examining how American pop culture was ideologically adapted and recontextualized in North and South Korea.

In her recent solo exhibition 《Gabriel》(2022, Atelier Hermes, Seoul), Nam interwove disappeared time, implicit time, and cyclical time within a single space, simultaneously visualizing the irreversibility and multiplicity of time. Gabriel(2022) and Coda(2022) explored the overlapping of transcendent and human temporalities by drawing on the mythical narrative of the angel Gabriel, enabling audiences to experience presence and absence concurrently. Through this, Nam deconstructs linear conceptions of time and proposes a multi-dimensional spacetime, persistently questioning the philosophy of time.

Style & Contents

Nam consistently integrates archival research and literary investigation into her practice, combining video, sound, performance, and installation to create complex new media works. In Coréen 109(2014), she explored the intersection of materiality and virtual temporality through the digital archive of the Jikji Simche Yojeol, examining the unstable boundaries between recording and memory. In Ghost Orchid(2015) and The Adoration of the Magi(2015), she juxtaposed the temporalities of natural elements—plants and celestial bodies (e.g., Halley’s Comet)—with human history, experimenting with the fluidity of narrative structures and the physical form of time. By doing so, Nam critically examined the flow and rupture of time, as well as the constructed nature of memory, thereby expanding the perceptual experience of viewers.

In 《Gabriel》, Nam combined single-channel video and six-channel sound installations in Gabriel(2022) and Coda(2022) to spatially manifest the fluidity and nonlinearity of time. Specifically, Coda utilized pipes and wind instruments arranged to traverse the exhibition space vertically, horizontally, and diagonally, sonically embodying the layering of time and allowing the audience to physically experience the invisible flow of temporality. Through the organic integration of installation, performance, video, and sound, Nam creates immersive sensory environments that invite audiences to engage with the indeterminacy and multiplicity of time.

Topography & Continuity

Hwayeon Nam has consistently maintained her exploration of the nonlinearity, multiplicity, and indeterminacy of time, establishing a distinctive conceptual position in contemporary art. Her rigorous archival research, combined with the experimental integration of video, installation, and performance, enables her to investigate the complex relationship between time and existence from multiple perspectives, thus broadening the philosophical horizons of contemporary art.

She has developed methods to deconstruct linear temporal flows and reconstruct layered spatial-temporal narratives. Recently, she has expanded her work beyond visual perception to include auditory experiences, enabling audiences to sensorially engage with the fluidity and irreversibility of time. By doing so, she continues to challenge conventional perceptions of temporality and existence, pushing the conceptual boundaries of contemporary art.

Through her innovative approaches to time and existence, Hwayeon Nam is anticipated to continue expanding the boundaries of temporal perception and contributing to new discourses in contemporary art on a global stage. Her unique conceptual approach to temporal multiplicity and her experimental use of new media make her a significant voice in the evolving landscape of contemporary art.