Haegue Yang, Pale
Paradisaeidae Humming Soul Sheet – Mesmerizing Mesh #243 (detail),
2024. Hanji, washi and origami paper on alu-dibond, 92 × 62 cm. Courtesy: Kukje
Gallery. Photo: © Haegue YangA solo exhibition of one of Korea’s leading
installation artists, Haegue Yang, 《Haegue Yang: Lean
Leap Days》, is being held at the Toto Building through
September 7. Located in Yeongeon-dong, Jongno-gu, the Toto Building has also
served as the artist’s studio for the past decade.
Centered around the ‘Mesmerizing Mesh’
series, first introduced in 2021, the exhibition features related publications
along with newly produced small sculptures. ‘Mesmerizing Mesh’ stems from the
artist’s long-standing interests in traditions and rituals across various
cultures.
Installation view
of 《Haegue Yang: Leap Year》 (Kunsthal Rotterdam,
the Netherlands, 2025) Photo: Marco De Swart. © Haegue YangAs the series progressed, however, her
focus converged on the materiality of paper. Hanji, still commonly found in
everyday life, also appears significantly in various indigenous traditional
rituals, including shamanistic and folk practices. Being fragile and delicate,
yet imbued with both cultural and spiritual connotations, hanji is folded and
cut, then compressed and attached to compose a flat surface in ‘Mesmerizing
Mesh’.
Studio Haegue Yang initiated 《Lean Leap Days》 in a space that once
explored the infinite depth of the spatiality of flat surfaces, where numerous
narratives and motifs have been compressed. The space, once used as a studio
for working and living, temporarily becomes a gallery contemplating the intense
evolution of ‘Mesmerizing Mesh.’
