About Exhibition

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From September 22nd to October 29th, 2023, artists Ryu Minji and Han Hwangsu is presenting a two-person exhibition titled "Gaze Play“ in Space Willing N Dealing. This exhibition focuses on the potential transformations inherent in images as perceived through the individual perspectives of the artists. It showcases the outcomes derived from their active interpretation and manipulation of these perspectives. The paintings by Ryu Minji, which reveal the temporality of landscapes as images, and the photographic installation works by Han Hwangsu, which remove the inherent uniqueness of objects and implement unpredictable transformative possibilities as new subjects through the medium of photography and text, are creating a common context while being distinct from each other. In essence, these two artists share a concept while creating disparate outcomes as they deconstruct and reconstruct visual layers. The primary information received through the gaze undergoes entirely different processes driven by the playful attitudes of each artist, resulting in new works. This allows viewers to navigate the Space Willing N Dealing with a sense of ease.

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Ryu depicts the surrounding landscape seen through the windows of her studio building. Through the frame of the window, the artist transfers the external scenery into the canvas. The landscapes recreated on the canvas capture the subtle changes in the scenery as it constantly shifts outside the actual window frame. The emotions, weather, and air conditions at the moment of observing the transformed landscape become the conditions for representing a single scene in multifaceted ways. The artist's focus is on the exhilaration of capturing these ever-changing scenes and translating them onto the canvas with subtle colors and textures. By observing the subtle changes found within the evolving environment, the artist draws various layers that involve specific emotions, time, and surroundings in what could otherwise be a typical landscape painting. Even though it's the same scene, the screen amplified the changing image elements, and it will reveal itself as a unique, subjective landscape, almost converging into an abstract image that showcases the beauty of one's personal perspective.

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Han works with photography. His work involves manipulating the original images in various ways, incorporating graphic tools rather than adhering to straight photography, to present unique images. In particular, his extension of images through text stimulates visual imagination while revealing the unique humor that works in conjunction with the images.In this exhibition, the belongings of his wife, which coexist within his living space, have become the artist's new visual subjects. Objects that the artist typically does not use are treated as visually alien entities in this process. These objects, captured through photography, undergo manipulation on the screen using computer graphic tools, involving disassembly, repetition, reconstruction, and reconfiguration. They are derived from the artist's text or may give rise to text themselves, forming a fictional narrative within the transformed screens, embodying a certain historicity. The interplay between images and text within a single wall allows viewers to anticipate connection points through visual cues, enabling their engagement in this interaction.

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​These two artists freely express their perspectives on the subjects with both playful and subjective sensibilities. Simultaneously, they employ different methodologies to create unique outcomes. In other words, Ryu Minji diligently dissects the multiple layers inherent in a single subject, revealing and paralleling these individualized layers. On the other hand, Han Hwangsu deconstructs the originality of a specific subject and reconstructs it, turning it into an entirely different entity with different functions and possibilities.