Omyo CHO

I often find myself pondering the choice of media used by artists to express their ideas. Many artists, generally, seem to stick with a certain type of media, and I can’t help but wonder if they do so for a specific reason. One artist, Omyo Cho particularly intrigues me with her diverse use of materials such as glass, clay, holograms, video, VR, and the novel in her art. I wonder about the motivations behind her unique artistic choices, such as installing a speaker inside a conch in  The Trace of Things Unmentioned (2018), using holograms in Broken Reality (2020), incorporating fragrance into her exhibitions, and utilizing VR in Nudi Hallucination (2022). I’m also curious if she plans to expand her use of materials and media in the future.

The Trace of Things Unmentioned (2018) begins with the artist writing a novel based on a place, Siidae inn. Instead of simply publishing the novel, the artist presents it in the form of sound, mediated through someone’s voice reading the novel out loud. However, the unclear nature of the sound creates a noise-like effect, reminiscent of how people in modern society often perceive sounds from their neighbors’ abodes as mere noise. The novel is conveyed through a Bluetooth speaker placed inside a conch, serving as metaphor for the residents of small, low-cost housing neighborhoods living in spaces similar in size to a room at Siidae inn. Just as a hermit crab only grows as big as the size of its shell, the individuals living in the small rooms are unable to expand their lives beyond the confines of the old buildings built in the 1950s.

In 2020, Cho presented Doubtful Thomas (2020), a silver-mirrored glass piece, to provide the viewers with an experience of visual distortion. In Broken Reality (2020), Cho created fake news, alternative truths, virtual images, and deep-fake videos in the form of 18-channel hologram. On the ceiling, a hologram that arranges images in the air is installed, and images pour down like a torrent. Viewers who lie down under the images are put in a position to helplessly receive them. The hologram, using fast-changing and strong lights, creates afterimages that confuse the viewers as if the forms come right at them. Viewers trying to catch the forms resemble the present-day situation where people try to grasp images that do not actually exist.

Moreover, Cho conducted an experiment to engage the viewers’ sense of smell. The aim was for visitors to remember their experience through smell. In her work in Weird Tension (2021), she collaborated with a perfumer to develop a ‘familiar yet captivating’ fragrance, which was then placed within the exhibition space. Different scents were presented in various forms such as fragrance, tea, and soap to the other exhibitors, Seung Hyo-sang, Cha Jin-yeob, and Sunwoo Jung-a. Similarly, in her work Nudi Hallucination (2022), Cho focused on interactive media to directly convey the narrative of selling and buying memories. She also attempted to create a VR piece by studying unreal engineering.

Cho expressed her desire to work with unfamiliar situations and experiences by using a variety of different artistic media that are new to her. While she has previously focused on exploring heavier materials, she now plans to work with lighter materials such as paper or delicate twigs. This leaves me intrigued about what new forms of unfamiliarity she may introduce to me in the future. Will it be related to a social issue, or a personal experience, or perhaps a primal physical sensation?

‘문화체육관광부와 (재)예술경영지원센터의 지원을 받아 번역되었습니다.
Korean-English Translation of this book(or text etc) is supported by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Arts Management Service’