Seontae Hwang comes up with his ideas from ordinary objects he encounters in everyday life. The lingering images of the sceneries in daily life are ordinary, but not so simple, he said. Hwang focuses on the topic “perception,” using two different ways for expression. First he works on a flat surface to talk about the very existence of the object itself. Hwang uses rather indirect and ambiguous approaches to emphasize the object. The second approach is to install three-dimensional structures to show the objects’ shape and the relationship with surroundings.

Line and Light

Hwang uses plain lines to indicate objects. The lines look rather neutral and dry. Then the light comes in. Now the screen is filled with light and shadow with a little sense of reality added, and each object in the scene begins to really come into our view.

Line is in fact an imaginary concept. If planes and colors disappear from an object, only the shape will be left there. Hwang draws lines to specify certain space for an object.

Light enables us to see things. When the light is added to Hwang’s lines, hidden structures of the objects are exposed. The objects now become three-dimensional, getting closer to reality.