HYEOKJONG LEE, HYOJUN HYUN

Lee investigates the intersection between capitalism and ecology through his art. The artist collects waste and neglected materials from the Hongdae neighborhood (the artist’s alma mater and exhibition site), constantly gentrifying and undergoing real estate development and construction. Lee’s “residual” transforms these collected materials into artworks. His pieces, created from materials removed from the commodity chain, are reborn as small sculptures (such as the Icarus Pop and L’ego series) and flat paintings intended for sale. It’s a game in which discarded resources are used to create the structure of the work, only to be put back in place as the exhibition closes. This dual strategy, termed “Core and Parts,” involves a core (artwork) that is monetizable and parts (materials) that are circulated for the ecological economy to complete the work. Residual from the streets gets new life, and locally sourced items return to their origins. Through this strategy, Lee practices conversion to residual value.

Hyun seeks to expand the vocabulary of painting through serendipitous findings. His “Leftover Painting” develops from intriguing compositions found in faded anonymous graffiti and abstract images of posters left on walls, evolving into his unique pictorial language. Wall installations composed of residual materials found in exhibition spaces and streets, such as posters, screws, and anchors, along with objects collected by the artist, aim to extend the vocabulary of painting into space. These works may become commodities displayed in galleries or be destroyed again. In this exhibition, the artist utilizes a portion of the basement wall of the venue to create new compositions that blend the space’s structure, history, and traces. The completed wall will disappear after the exhibition ends. Hyun’s “residual,” generated from fragmentation and mixture, cycles through the logic of capital, where residuals and surplus value recur.

The exhibition ‘Residual’ is a dialogue between two artists who, through different production methods, aim to produce residual from residual resources. Their exhibition, for the residual, by the residual, and of the residual, represents their original way of addressing crises within the capitalist system as artists. It introduces the survival strategies of these artists, who transform residual things into paintings and sculptures optimized for the market distribution system.