Artists
South Korea
Hana Yoo
Tanu
21.11.23 22.12.23
Hana Yoo is a Korean artist based in Berlin, who came to ´ace as part of the agreement that we hold with ARKO–Arts Council Korea. Hana is interested in investigating the collective anxiety and transcendental experiences, formulated from the natural-artificial process of reversing perspective. Working in film and multimedia installation, she engages with the allegory of nature and technological appropriation in the context of human-environment transformation and reconstructs them through storytelling.
During her time at ´ace, she researched topics of ecocide, ecofeminism, feminism, and their local manifestations, interviewing and talking to referents of these movements (such as Malón de la Paz, DifusiónV, etc.). As the result of her project, she presented a video piece with an installation comprised of posters and the costume that she wore as part of her shoot at the Río de la Plata.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My interest lies in the point where the spectrum of extremes bends into a circle, where the two ends meet. I am interested in the point where extreme comfort represents anxiety, where something is so funny that it becomes sad, where the hyperreality becomes a fantasy, where extreme freedom reveals restriction. Here, at this tip where perspective is reversed, I imagine a transcendental experience that arises only when a part of one’s existence is destroyed.
Through film and installation, I develop a narrative device in which the dramatically exaggerated anthropomorphism loses its function as an anthropomorphic, while hoping that the subject and object dissolve into each other, leaving only the moment of transformation. Women, animals, and representations of the natural environment appear in superficial forms as the protagonists who have long been objectified, exploited, and oppressed. New technological media, institutions, and stereotyped concepts appear as tools or supporting actors that maximize the ambivalence of human perspectives on the environment, revealing the dynamics of power connected therein.
BIO
Hana Yoo
1987 | South Korea
Lives and works in Berlin, Germany
EDUCATION
2021 | Diploma/Meister. Berlin University of Arts, Art and Media, Berlin, Germany
2011 | BA Visual Communication, Psychology. Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea
2008 | Summer exchange. New York University Steinhardt, New York, USA
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022 | Elbow Room. Berlin Art Prize, Berlin Art Week, Acud Galerie, Berlin, Germany
2021 | Chambers. Post Territory Ujeongguk, Seoul, South Korea
2020 | Hysteric C. Diskurs, Berlin, Germany
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS/SCREENINGS
2023 | Becoming Machine. Artsect DAO gallery, London, UK
2023 | Künstlerinnenprogramm. Screening, Arsenal – Institute for Film and Video Art, Berlin, Germany
2023 | Einstein Center Digital Futures. Group Show, Berlin, Germany
AWARDS
2022 | Berlin Art Prize, Germany
2022 | Research Grant (Visual Arts). Berlin Senate Department for Culture, Germany
2022 | Work Grant (Film/Video). Berlin Senate Department for Culture, Germany
2020 | Film Award / 14th Busan International Video Art Festival, South Korea
2019 | Foto.Text.Data Award / Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland
Related Activities
´aceNITE, Performance
Echoes of Existence
Artists in dialogue
13.12.23 22.12.23
Echoes of Existence: Artistic Reflections on Humanity, Nature, and Identity
In the last ‘ aceNITE of 2023 we are honored to present the diverse and compelling works of four talented artists: ARKO/Korean residency fellows Jungsuh Sue Lim and Hana Yoo, Open Buenos Aires Prize & Residence scholarship Zerre (Venezuela) and artist in residence Greg Zurita (USA). Each artist brings a unique perspective and artistic approach, collectively engaging with themes ranging from loss and mortality to architectural abstraction, reflections on identity, and the evolving relationship between humanity and artificial intelligence.
Yoo’s work offers a powerful commentary on environmental activism, indigenous rights, and the enduring bond between humanity and nature. Through the narrative of Tanu, a mystical being navigating landscapes threatened by extractivism, YOO confronts urgent ecological concerns while honoring the resilience of indigenous communities and their fight for environmental justice.
Lim’s poignant exploration of loss and mortality resonates deeply, drawing from personal experiences to confront the complexities of farewells and the emotions that accompany them. Through her immersive installation performance “Here and There, Together,” Lim invites viewers to participate in a reinterpreted ceremony for beloved souls, encouraging collective reflection and connection.
Zerre’s thought-provoking series, “Metahumans,” challenges conventional notions of identity and reality in the digital age. Through graphic prints on unconventional supports and the use of photolithography techniques, Zerre blurs the boundaries between human and artificial intelligence, inviting viewers to question the nature of perception and existence in an increasingly technologically mediated world
Zurita’s minimalist yet evocative artworks offer a contemplative exploration of architectural form and texture. Using earth-toned palettes and a structural approach to geometric abstraction, Zurita invites viewers to engage with the subtle nuances of everyday life, encouraging personal interpretations and new perspectives on the world around us.
Together, these four artists offer a rich tapestry of perspectives, inviting viewers to contemplate the complexities of the human experience, the environment, and the intersections between art, technology, and identity.
Related artists
‘ aceNITE
December 13, 2023
7PM to 10PM
Jungsuh Sue Lim performance:8.30PM
Exhibitions
TANU
Hana Yoo
13.12.23 22.03.24
ARTIST STATEMENT
A mystical being emerges from the depths of the river and sea, traversing the monumental landscapes of the city. In response to a controversial proposal by a far- right politician advocating for the privatization of the sea and whales under the guise of “saving” them, the Tanu´s project manifests slow resistance against extractivism and potential ecocide.
Tanu is re-imagined figure inspired by spiritual rite of Selk’nam, an indigenous group from southern Patagonia(Tierra del Fuego). They were known to deeply connect with cetaceans, especially because finding a stranded whale conveys their temporary settlement and therefore a new generation. They are now considered extinct as a tribe, due to gold mining and the excessive farming in the 20th Century which led to genocide of the Selk´nam.
Tanu‘s path eventually intersects with Malón de la Paz (Peace Incursion), an indigenous sit-in protest group from northwestern Argentina, Jujuy and Salta. This region is marked by large-scale lithium mining operations that have inflicted severe environmental contamination. Their 77 years of fight to reclaim their land continues with the spirit of Pachamama.
The narrative rewinds through five posters, portraying Tanu‘s emergence as if it were an activist leaflet, yet revealing their binary points. The sixth poster takes inspiration from a poem by Kim Hye Sun (South Korea, 1955), turning a political voice into an imaginative space, exploring spheres between art and activism.
Related artists
TANU – universe · health · whale · anima
single channel video, HD, stereo, color, 10’40’’, 2023
The Sea is Not Private
6 poster series, digital print, 594 x 381, 2023
