Semin Hong

Semin Hong is a South Korean artist (1995, Pennsylvania) who lives and works in London, UK. She studied MA Fine Art at UAL Chelsea College of Arts in London and BFA Painting at Hongik University in Seoul.

 

Through mixed media installation, she explores relationships between people and home, especially in the context of migration. In her work, the elements of home -whether they are architectural fragments or gestures extracted from ritualistic actions taking place in domestic space- are isolated and inserted into the new context. By building a temporary shelter in a gallery and using repeated motifs from her childhood memory, she attempts to navigate her sexual, racial identity and belongingness as an immigrant.

​

Her choice of materials used in the installations relies mostly on portability. She works predominantly with foldable fabrics that could fit in luggages as all her works are meant to be carried around with her through her personal migration. Objects and videos used in installations function as lexicons indicating personal imageries from her nostalgic memory of first home. For Semin, objects she creates are more like notes in a tune, each of which has its own manner of appearance, later accumulated to complete the ephemeral, oneiric landscape.

​

Semin is currently an artist in residence at Sarabande Foundation (est. Lee Alexander McQueen), continuing on her research of spacial nostalgia, focusing on the textile element of the installation to create the ‘skin’ of home.