Chun Kwang-young's crystalline 'hanji' wonderland in Seoul

By Park Han-sol

A quick glance at Korean artist Chun Kwang-young’s sculptures is enough to stop even the most unsuspecting passerby in their tracks.

Perhaps it’s their sheer size, with some towering over 3 meters high and spilling dramatically across the floor. Or maybe it’s their uncanny forms, reminiscent of giant crystalline structures or spiky, otherworldly lifeforms.

But, whatever compels visitors to take a step closer, these creations hold yet another surprise: their base material.

For more than three decades, Chun has handcrafted thousands of triangular “hanji” (Korean mulberry paper) packages into three-dimensional sculptures and wall-mounted reliefs, collectively titled “Aggregation.”

For this signature series, the 80-year-old begins by tearing pages from discarded, secondhand books and meticulously folding each one into a trigonal parcel. The technique takes cues from the small paper-wrapped bundles once used to hold medicinal herbs — a nostalgic nod to the imagery of his childhood.

He then dyes these packages with herbal teas, coffee or other natural pigments to give them an earthy hue before assembling them into peculiar shapes: cratered lunar surfaces, ailing hearts or crumbling, timeworn columns.

The artist’s latest solo exhibition, “Aggregations: Resonance, In-between,” at Gana Art Center in central Seoul, offers a chance to trace his creative evolution before and after the inception of his “Aggregation.”

The presentation brings together 20 hanji sculptures and reliefs spanning from the early 1980s to his most recent works, including the massive installations from “Times Reimagined,” a collateral show at the 2022 Venice Biennale that attracted over 100,000 visitors.

Oil paintings like “ONT-016” (1986) reflect Chun’s early foray into abstract expressionism, a style he encountered during his student years in Philadelphia in the 1970s. But he soon realized that he needed to find his own voice rooted in the spirit and culture of Korea.

It was then that memories of medicinal herb wrappers from his childhood, as well as the tradition of Korea’s “bojagi” (wrapping cloth) hit him.

“This culture stuck with me,” he said. “A mother wrapping a bojagi for her married daughter as she leaves for her new home, trying to stuff as many things as possible with love, for example. Even if the contents distort the package’s shape or make it hard to assess what’s inside, I believe this embodies the essence of Korean affection and spirit.”

Hence, his hanji-wrapped masterpieces were born.

The viewing experience at the gallery is further enhanced by the immersive combination of the artist’s labor-intensive creations and new visuals and sound.

“Aggregation 15-JL038,” a sickly heart-shaped piece, is paired with a recording of an irregular heartbeat, while “Aggregation 19-MA023,” resembling an alien skull, is set against the imposing, silent media facade of Niagara Falls.

“I wanted to convey the grotesque, monstrous transformation of humanity into alien-like forms in the face of nature’s overwhelming silence,” he said of the latter.

“Aggregations” runs through Feb. 2, 2025, at Gana Art Center.