News and Media

Published: Sep 8, 2011


HONG KONG - SCAD presents "The Mechanics of Invention," a solo exhibition of photographs and animated film by Yeondoo Jung, on view now through Nov. 19 at SCAD Gallery, 2/F, 30-32 Wyndham St., Central, Hong Kong. The exhibition and a public reception, scheduled for Friday, Sept. 30, 6-8 p.m., are both free and open to the public.

"The Mechanics of Invention" features Jung's Location photo series, which playfully entrances viewers by revealing just enough of the pre-planning, working details and craftsmanship utilized to create his images. With narrative and cinematic influence, and respecting the general notion of photography as a documentary medium, Jung's "Location" images incorporate simple set design, props and studio lights at an outdoor location to make images that slip between both the real and the imaginary. In "Location #24," for instance, Jung, at a roadside mountaintop, captures the precise moment when the sun met the height of his lighting equipment, and fashioned a tropical oasis in the middle of a lake. He altered the scene just enough to create an uncanny juxtaposition of scene and character that is both enchanting and mysterious.

In addition to the "Location" series, Jung's short film "SIXPOINTS" is showcased as part of the exhibition. "SIXPOINTS" oscillates between real and invented environments by animating images of New York City neighborhoods with mysterious shadows and artificial light. Jung's camera captures unique cultural communities - Indian, Italian, Chinese, Korean, Mexican, Russian and Jewish - revealing distinct points of the city and individual points of view that are expressed in the quotations read aloud to accompany the animation. Each culture-specific short story told in "SIXPOINTS" expresses certain ideas about the relationships people have with one another and the relationships they have with the city itself, such as sacrifice, compromise, ambivalence, loneliness, loss and recovery, and promise.

SCAD previously hosted solo showings of Jung's work in 2007 with the exhibition "I Will Remember You," which included early works from Jung's "Location" series and the video "Document Nostalgia." The exhibition traveled from the ACA Gallery of SCAD in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, to the former Red Gallery (now the Gutstein Gallery) in Savannah, Georgia. "The Mechanics of Invention" at SCAD Gallery in Hong Kong builds on this exhibition, featuring new and existing works from the "Location" series and the "SIXPOINTS" film that have not shown at SCAD before.

SCAD operates a global exhibitions program with more than a dozen galleries in the United States, France and Hong Kong. The university's annual exhibitions calendar features a range of work by talented SCAD students, professors, alumni and renowned visiting artists to complement the university's academic programming. SCAD offers more than 40 majors and 50 minors globally; in Hong Kong, the university offers bachelor's and master's degrees in advertising, animation, graphic design, illustration, interactive design and game development, motion media design, photography and visual effects. For more information, visit scad.edu/hongkong.

About the Artist

Yeondoo Jung was born in 1969 in Jinju, South Korea. He earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of London, Goldsmiths College, in 1997; a Diploma in Sculpture from the London Institute in 1995; and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Seoul National University in 1994. Jung has presented work in major solo exhibitions at various galleries and museums in South Korea, Spain, France and the United States. He received an International Studio and Curatorial Program residency, New York, in 2006; Artist of the Year Award from the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea, in 2007; and Today's Young Artist Award from the Korean Ministry of Culture, Seoul, South Korea, in 2008. Jung lives and works in Seoul, South Korea.

SCAD Gallery

2/F, 30-32 Wyndham St., Central, Hong Kong (Entrance on Glenealy Street). Gallery hours: Monday through Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, visit scadexhibitions.com.

Media inquiries may be directed to Ruby Hung with Edelman Public Relations, Tom Ho with Edelman Public Relations or Sunny Nelson with SCAD.