The sculptures of Jungyoon Hyen (b. 1990) are rooted in the relationships between society, the individual, and the community. Observing how beings navigate daily life within power dynamics, the artist draws on these observations to create her work. Hyen’s sculptural figures, imbued with physical gestures, movements, and expressions, depict fluid and solidaristic situations.

Jungyoon Hyen’s work stems from her personal experiences of being born in a newly developed city and repeatedly moving to other new towns. Her habitual experience of adapting to different systems in spaces where established frameworks and planned structures are already in place naturally led to an interest in the invisible power dynamics between space (especially urban environments), individuals, and communities, and how these forces shape people’s everyday lives.

In her 2018 solo exhibition 《Walking on tiptoes》 at the Korean Cultural Centre UK, Jungyoon Hyen presented works that visualized her sensations as an outsider after moving once again, this time to study abroad in the UK.
 
In this exhibition, she explored the relationship between the city and the individuals living within it through the motifs of "ground" and "feet." For instance, the sculpture I see you from here (2018), which captures a fleeting movement of a body walking on tiptoes, was placed on a small pedestal and stood facing a wall. 

The directional force embedded in the act of moving forward in this foot sculpture invites the viewer to imagine whether the ground ahead will be stable or precarious, prompting reflections on the relationship between the ground and the foot—and by extension, between urban spaces and individuals.

Jungyoon Hyen also transforms everyday objects such as trolley wheels, door stoppers, carpets, and locks into "non-functional" objects, metaphorically expressing the contemporary human experience within urban spaces. To do so, she combines materials like stainless steel pipes, styrofoam, cement, and silicone with these familiar items, creating sculptures that form unexpected and dissonant combinations.

In particular, Hyen stages sculptural situations that capture the feelings of despair and oppression experienced by urban dwellers, who live in a constant state of otherness within an accelerated modern society. Her sculptures often appear anthropomorphized, resembling human gestures and postures. For example, On My Knees (2019) takes on a form that, as the title suggests, resembles a person kneeling, despite its abstract appearance.

In this way, the titles of Hyen’s works serve as hints that breathe life and theatricality into her sculptures. She carefully considers how each piece is positioned within the space, determining what the sculpture is “looking at,” in other words, setting the gaze and role of the work.  

In doing so, Hyen stages her sculptures as actors and transforms the exhibition space into a stage, moving beyond the typical presentation of sculptures as polished objects within the white cube to create specific, narrative-driven situations.

In her first solo exhibition in Korea, 《You Again》 (2019), Jungyoon Hyen expressed feelings of helplessness toward a future shaped by the same structures of difference and alienation through the installation of her sculptures.
 
The exhibition title, “You Again,” carries the nuance of a resigned sigh, like saying, “After running so far away, I lift my head only to find you again,” reflecting the exhaustion of repeatedly confronting the same forces. 

The exhibition was composed of sculptures that embodied the emotions of the subject facing such a future — "You" — as well as works that resembled "You" itself. Feelings of powerlessness were represented through sculptures such as a bent stainless steel pipe kneeling on the floor (On My Knees), and a drooping silicone sculpture resembling a multi-adapter slumped against a wall ("I know" (with a sigh)).

Meanwhile, Cooling my heels 4, 5, where a bicycle lock clings to an absent bicycle as if guarding it like a stone statue, and On my way, where door stoppers are attached to either side of a body like centipede legs yet prevent movement in any direction, both suggest a moment of suspended advance — a fragmented rationalization that reads as “just taking a break” on the way toward the future. 

These "non-functional" sculptures self-mockingly capture the artist’s own sense of frustration and helplessness in the face of irrational circumstances where no forward motion seems possible.

Meanwhile, in the following year, during her solo exhibition 《I swim to cry》 at SONGEUN ARTCUBE, Jungyoon Hyen posed questions about the reasons for the repetition of specific futures and the reproduction of power. The works showcased in the exhibition were composed of warm pastel tones, which appeared harmless from a distance but subtly revealed their duality when approached closely. 

The piece I swim to cry (2020), sharing its title with the exhibition, portrays two situations: one where the swimmer tightly wears goggles to prevent water from entering, yet a liquid—whether water or tears—seeps through, obscuring their vision, and another where one swims to cry without showing tears.

In That I Was Once By Your Side (2020), the sculptures, tangled and rising through the iron mesh laid on the floor, present a scene where the roles of victim and perpetrator are unclear. The pieces in this exhibition are entangled in a state where it is uncertain what kind of relationship they have with one another or what influence they exert on each other. 

In this environment full of questions, the artist encourages the audience to ask questions about the relationship between the space and the surrounding works through I Wish to Live Long (2020), which ultimately prompts reflection on all the situations being observed.

In 《Young Korean Artists 2021》 at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon, held in 2021, Jungyoon Hyen presented sculptures that were not expressions of frustration or helplessness toward massive societal systems like capitalism, but rather sculptures that were self-consciously assimilated into the structure and system of society.

In previous sculpture works, elements such as pipe clamps, walls, chains, and wire mesh, which were connected to the structure of the space or the sculpture, appeared to hinder the will or actions of the sculpture, creating a sense of helplessness due to the misalignment of the forces between the sculpture's bodily intent and the structures that oppressed it. 

However, in 《Young Korean Artists 2021》, the bodies in the sculptures are presented in a way that they comfortably integrate these structures into their forms, as if they were their own bones or flesh, or even appear to bind themselves willingly.

Recently, Jungyoon Hyen has been presenting ambiguous sculptures that appear to grow, branch, and change. Her works, reminiscent of living creatures but with bodies that defy classification by species or gender, have exaggerated and strange forms, often covered in moist, slimy textures, giving them tactile and generative qualities.
 
For instance, Dancing Spiral 2, 3 (2023) features pink silicone and resin clinging like flesh to cold, hard iron pipes, twisting in a sensual manner. It seems as though the generative power of the materials forming the fleshy body overpowers the straight force of the rigid pipes, causing the sculpture’s form to twist and become flexible. The blending of these forces creates a state in which the power dynamics between them become ambiguous. 

The tactile and generative characteristics of these sculptures, along with the ambiguous motion of forces within them, lure the audience beyond the visible, fixed state of the sculptures, prompting them to imagine both the temporal context of the sculptures and the invisible situations they evoke, thus creating a sculptural space-time of sorts.

Jungyoon Hyen states that through these sculptures, she seeks to establish an interactive, subject-to-subject relationship with the audience. Depending on the context, the artist sets the gaze and role of the sculptures, repositioning them as active entities that create relationships with the surrounding space and other sculptures. Her work evokes the various forms of existence that live within the current social structures and systems through the community formed by these sculptures.

“Through the way sculptures share a space and exist or occupy it in certain attitudes or states, I aim to show the various forms of existence that live their daily lives within the current social structure and system.
 
By imagining the potential situations that may have happened or could happen to the sculptures, or thinking about what the sculptures can or cannot do, I hope to make the audience reflect on these scenarios, even though the sculptures are fixed in place.”   (Jungyoon Hyen, interview at MMCA 《Young Korean Artists 2021》)

Based in Seoul and London, Jungyoon Hyen majored in Western painting at Ewha Womans University and sculpture at the Royal College of Art in the UK. Her solo exhibitions include 《See you down the road》 (Factory2, Seoul, 2021), 《I swim to cry》 (SONGEUN ARTCUBE, Seoul, 2020), 《You Again》 (OS, Seoul, 2019), and more.
 
Additionally, she has participated in numerous group exhibitions such as 《UNBOXING PROJECT 3: Maquette》 (New Spring Project, Seoul, 2024), 《off-site》 (Art Sonje Center, Seoul, 2023), 《SUMMER LOVE 2022》 (SONGEUN, Seoul, 2022), and 《Young Korean Artists 2021》 (National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon, 2021). 

Jungyoon Hyen has participated in artist-in-residence programs at Seoul Art Space Geumcheon (2022), MMCA Goyang Residency (2021), and more.

References

• 현정윤, Jungyoon Hyen (Artist Website) :
• 금천예술공장, 현정윤 (Seoul Art Space Geumcheon) :
• 디자인프레스, 생동하고 저항하는 것들의 주물, 상황을 조각하는 작가 현정윤, 2021.12.14 :
• 뉴스핌, ‘개인과 공동체’ 탐색하는 현정윤, 런던서 개인전, 2018.08.17 :
• 아트바바, 송은아트큐브 – 울며 수영하기 :
• 임진호, 현정윤 개인전 You Again :
• 아트바바, os – You Again :
• 국립현대미술관 뉴스레터 뮤클리, 동시대 미술의 오늘과 내일 《젊은 모색 2021》 인터뷰 3편, 2023.01.21:
• 아트선재센터, 오프사이트 (Art Sonje Center, off-site) :
• 비애티튜드, 자기 자신과 가장 친하게 지내세요 :