Sayart.net - Seungwon Yang Explores the Fluidity of Memory and Image in Solo Exhibition ‘Boundaries of Epoché’ at Museum Hanmi

  • September 05, 2025 (Fri)

Seungwon Yang Explores the Fluidity of Memory and Image in Solo Exhibition ‘Boundaries of Epoché’ at Museum Hanmi

Maria Kim / Published April 27, 2025 09:02 PM
  • -
  • +
  • print
The installation view of the exhibition, Courtesy of Museum Hanmi

Museum Hanmi will present Seungwon Yang’s solo exhibition ‘Boundaries of Epoché’ from April 25 to July 20, 2025, at the Museum Hanmi Samcheong Annex, as part of its 24/25 MH Talent Portfolio program. This initiative, aimed at supporting photographers in their 30s and 40s, selects artists through an open call to participate in various opportunities such as solo exhibitions, duo shows, international previews, and photobook publications.

Selected for this cycle, Yang examines the transformative possibilities of photography and digital media, employing techniques such as compositing, rendering, and three-dimensional manipulation. His practice consistently questions the boundaries between reality and illusion, truth and fiction. Through this exhibition, he seeks to challenge the traditional perception of photography as a fixed and objective medium, instead emphasizing its fluid, ever-changing nature to be experienced through the senses.


The portrait of the artist, Courtesy of Museum Hanmi

The title ‘Boundaries of Epoché’ draws from the phenomenological concept of ‘epoché’, meaning the suspension of judgment to encounter phenomena as they are. In Yang’s work, boundaries are not rigid divisions but shifting states that exist between the real and the unreal, the before and after of transformation. Visitors are encouraged to set aside preconceived notions of photography and engage more intimately and bodily with the imagery before them.

Memory serves as a critical axis in Yang’s exploration of images. Just as memories are continuously reshaped, erased, or transformed through social and environmental factors, Yang’s photographs embody this flux. Using water as a central motif, the artist visualizes memory’s mutable nature—highlighting its ability to flow, contain, and transform.


The installation view of the exhibition, Courtesy of Museum Hanmi

In the exhibition, Yang presents photographic installations where images of water are printed onto aluminum panels. These panels are then physically crumpled and hand-shaped, transforming two-dimensional photographs into sculptural forms. This gesture distorts the image and imbues it with a tactile, kinetic energy that invites viewers to drift among the works, experiencing the permeability between image, memory, and space.

By collapsing the boundary between photograph and object, Yang challenges audiences to reconsider the essence of both mediums. The exhibition offers a sensorial experience that dissolves the conventional understanding of photography, inviting reflection on the unstable yet generative nature of perception and recollection.


The installation view of the exhibition, Courtesy of Museum Hanmi


Sayart / Maria Kim, sayart2022@gmail.com

The installation view of the exhibition, Courtesy of Museum Hanmi

Museum Hanmi will present Seungwon Yang’s solo exhibition ‘Boundaries of Epoché’ from April 25 to July 20, 2025, at the Museum Hanmi Samcheong Annex, as part of its 24/25 MH Talent Portfolio program. This initiative, aimed at supporting photographers in their 30s and 40s, selects artists through an open call to participate in various opportunities such as solo exhibitions, duo shows, international previews, and photobook publications.

Selected for this cycle, Yang examines the transformative possibilities of photography and digital media, employing techniques such as compositing, rendering, and three-dimensional manipulation. His practice consistently questions the boundaries between reality and illusion, truth and fiction. Through this exhibition, he seeks to challenge the traditional perception of photography as a fixed and objective medium, instead emphasizing its fluid, ever-changing nature to be experienced through the senses.


The portrait of the artist, Courtesy of Museum Hanmi

The title ‘Boundaries of Epoché’ draws from the phenomenological concept of ‘epoché’, meaning the suspension of judgment to encounter phenomena as they are. In Yang’s work, boundaries are not rigid divisions but shifting states that exist between the real and the unreal, the before and after of transformation. Visitors are encouraged to set aside preconceived notions of photography and engage more intimately and bodily with the imagery before them.

Memory serves as a critical axis in Yang’s exploration of images. Just as memories are continuously reshaped, erased, or transformed through social and environmental factors, Yang’s photographs embody this flux. Using water as a central motif, the artist visualizes memory’s mutable nature—highlighting its ability to flow, contain, and transform.


The installation view of the exhibition, Courtesy of Museum Hanmi

In the exhibition, Yang presents photographic installations where images of water are printed onto aluminum panels. These panels are then physically crumpled and hand-shaped, transforming two-dimensional photographs into sculptural forms. This gesture distorts the image and imbues it with a tactile, kinetic energy that invites viewers to drift among the works, experiencing the permeability between image, memory, and space.

By collapsing the boundary between photograph and object, Yang challenges audiences to reconsider the essence of both mediums. The exhibition offers a sensorial experience that dissolves the conventional understanding of photography, inviting reflection on the unstable yet generative nature of perception and recollection.


The installation view of the exhibition, Courtesy of Museum Hanmi


Sayart / Maria Kim, sayart2022@gmail.com

WEEKLY HOTISSUE