MOAMOA Exhibition / Art Installation

INFO

NameMOAMOA
Year2013
Start Date23 November 2013
End Date24 August 2014
Names of ArtistsSeung Yul Oh
CuratorAaron Kreisler, Aaron Lister
Organiser / VenueDunedin Public Art Gallery, City Gallery Wellington
ArtformVisual arts

ABOUT

MOAMOA (모아 모아 or ‘gather together’ in Korean) was Seung Yul Oh’s first major survey exhibition, taking place just ten years after the artist graduated with a Master of Fine Arts from Elam. Produced as a partnership between the Dunedin Public Art Gallery and City Gallery Wellington, the exhibition was curated by Aaron Kreisler and Aaron Lister and included the publication of an accompanying 122-page hardcover book.

At 33, still a relatively young age, MOAMOA showcased Oh's considerable body of work, including The Ability to Blow Themselves Up (2004-), an ongoing single-channel video that originated during his time at art school, through to new interactive commissions Square Sphere (2013) and Periphery (2013-14). The exhibition’s scale, occupying close to a dozen spaces at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, showcased the artist’s prolific output and skilful use of space.

A number of large-scale inflatable sculptures were installed, including tactile interactions such as those generated by Periphery (2013-14) – a room for visitors to traverse filled with large inflated oblong pillars, the experience of which Oh describes as being lost in a forest and as a physicalised version of his paintings.

Oh’s Myun (2011-13) series of still-life-like noodle dishes, exaggerated by an invisible hand using chopsticks stretching noodles to above human height, was the precursor to the high-profile public sculpture OnDo (2015-2021).

Oh’s minimal geometric paintings and earlier sculptures, such as PokPo (2010), were also included, tracking Oh’s progression and development as an artist adept at making use of a range of mediums corresponding to the concept of each body of work.

Oh expertly navigates “a middle ground here between the aesthetic, the conceptual and the engaging”. He has continued to develop an expansive practice in which scale and audience play a significant role, with many of his iconic public sculptures visible throughout Aotearoa and beyond.

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OTHER PHOTOS AND Ephemera

Magazine article with colour illustration.

Claudia Arozqueta, 'Seung Yul Oh: MOAMOA, a Decade', Art Asia Pacific, September/October, 2014

Seung Yul Oh smiling and raising a glass amongst a group of poeple, with a man and a woman next to him similarly raising their glasses.

Seung Yul Oh at the opening event on 30 May 2014 of Seung Yul Oh: Moamoa, a Decade, City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi, 2014

Lots of people socialising below a large translucent orb hanging from the ceiling in a large foyer space.

The opening event on 30 May 2014 of Seung Yul Oh: Moamoa, a Decade, City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi, 2014

A large inflated translucent orb installed in a foyer space from the ceiling.

Huggong (2013) at Seung Yul Oh: Moamoa, a Decade, City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi, 2014

Scaled up fibreglass sculptures - a match hanging from the ceiling and a mouse standing with arms outstretched, installed in a gallery space.

Boo Boon (2009) and Pokpo (2010) at Seung Yul Oh: MOAMOA, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, 2014

Courtesy of Starkwhite

Sculptures and wall painting installed in a large foyer space.

Wall painting Gongboo (2013) and to the right, Huggong (variation 3) (2013) at Seung Yul Oh: MOAMOA, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, 2014

Courtesy of the artist

Large inflated yellow orb sandwiched between the floor and ceiling in a gallery space with minimal, frame-like wall paintings in red, green, gold and black on the walls either side.

Installation view of Seung Yul Oh: Moamoa, a Decade, City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi, 2014

Two large inflated orbs, the bottom white and top translucent, stacked on top of each other sandwiched between the floor and ceiling.

Gupoom (2013) at Seung Yul Oh: MOAMOA, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, 2014

Courtesy of the artist

Large translucent inflated orb sandwiched between the floor and ceiling, and next to handrails.

Huggong (variation 3) (2013) at Seung Yul Oh: MOAMOA, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, 2014

Courtesy of the artist

Spot lights on two sculptures depicting noodles being pulled from bowls by chopsticks to a greater than human hight, and a tall stack of stainless steel crockery.

Jabchae (2013), Naeng Myun (2013) and BiBim Naeng Myun (2013) at Seung Yul Oh: Moamoa, a Decade, City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi, 2014

Courtesy of One and J. Gallery and the artist