Our relationship with our homely surroundings is not always easy. A major factor here is its inescapability. We can feel forced to remain in an environment that does not always serve us. Whether this stems from a desire to gain control over our surroundings (and whether home offers that illusion) is a question in itself. Beyond that, the need to control what we experience and absorb is also reflected in how we consume negative imagery. How do you relate to images of violence and death? Can this be achieved by mediating and abstracting them into visual art as a form of self-expression, and thus a form of autonomy?

These questions take center stage in the exhibition Longing Lingering, in which artists Yang-ha and Sunwoo Jung each explore their own answers. The two artists first met during their respective stays in the Netherlands, where they graduated from different fine art academies. Although they did not study together, a personal connection developed as their work revealed striking affinities in aesthetic sensibilities, interests, and approaches. At first glance, their shared visual language of soft, light color palettes, suggested a clear connection. Yet this aesthetic similarity only hinted at a deeper layer, one that became visible when considering their disciplines and their roles as artists.

It is in that deeper layer that the conceptual foundation of this exhibition emerged: control; or the lack thereof, or the desire for it.

Sunwoo Jung seeks to disrupt notions of home and intimacy by appropriating homely objects, such as washing lines, blinds, and chairs. By altering these objects through changes in materiality, she disrupts familiar associations. This resulting tension between recognizable forms and unexpected materials are interventions to our relationship with these objects. Such subtle interruptions open a passage to another dimension, where the eternal past moves in sync with a future narrative. 

Yang-ha focuses more directly on confronting images of violence and foreboding. Throughout her practice, she has painted bleak scenes of bombs, tears, and explosions, filtering them through her own perception into a softened aesthetic that reduces their intensity. Rather than fleeing these images, this filtering offers a glimpse of complete control over the uncontrollable. In this exhibition, she presents not only her paintings but also three-dimensional work: wooden pillars made during her residency at the Bierumer School in the Netherlands. They resonate with the architectural imagery in her paintings. Piled together, they emulate a cityscape that feels both dominant as fragile in its untouchability. 

This thread of control ties closely to their disciplines. In ceramics, the material itself resists total submission; clay is not omni-obedient. Its unpredictability forms a dynamic bond between ceramist and object. In Yang-ha’s painting practice, scenes and images are filtered through the painter’s hand, offering a degree (though never a guarantee) of control over their semiotic force.

Longing Lingering  moves between the two places most deeply tied to the artistic practices of both Yang-ha and Sunwoo Jung: Seoul and Amsterdam. Accordingly, it will unfold in two iterations, one in each city. Each iteration introduces site-specific objects and interventions that contribute to the ongoing exploration of the universal human desire for even a small sense of control.