About the depth of the traces left behind by his "objects" - Psychological time - 

An object has been placed in a certain setting. We look at its placement. Its "being seen" is about the flow of time and space. This flow leaves behind a trace. This trace is also about the flow of consciousness of the viewer. The development of consciousness inevitably occurs with the passing of time. Hong Seung-hee is intrigued by the traces of phenomena that are visible with the development of his consciousness, his "state of mind." In the course of the change and evolution of the traces, depth takes shape. Hong Seung-hee's art is about this depth. Hong Seung-hee says that the object that appears static is actually in motion, in that the traces made by their movement change in depth as time passes; in other words, he wanted to re-enact the depth porcesses in the formation of traces. It is apparent that he saw the development of depth in the traces. Of course, what he saw could be an illusion. But he says that he embarked on this project captivated by this emergent depth, which took place over the course of time. What did he really see?

Before the invention of a photograph, the recreation of space was only possible in a painting, but not the re-enactment of time. A "motion" is a phenomenon by which an object makes a shift in location in accordance with the flow of time. Our eyes cannot fully detect the traces of that shift of placement in the given space. Hence, it was nearly impossible to reproduce it. Seeing something through our eyes entails that the light reflected by an object hitting our retina is thereby registered by the optic nerve, which then remembers it. This process of remembering the traces of light, which are reflected every moment by an object in motion; the re-enactment of this memory is the visualization of movement. Therefore, the eye can detect very fast or very slow movements but because the visual apparatus cannot recall the entire process, it can't be said that the eye has actually discerned it. And that is the reason why reproduction of this phenomenon was almost impossible. But then the modern invention called film could record not only what happens in 1/125th of a second but also in 1/8000th of a second, such as a supersonic flying object. For example, the photographic silver gelatin processes could capture and record those ultra-brief moments that the eye could "see", but not consciously process per se.

Hong Seung-hee is preoccupied with the moment. Thus, his work is a very psychological work. He's challenging himself to make possible what is impossible. He recreates the rebellion of the books in the bookcase. The books, which should remain neatly positioned, are revolting by moving wildly on their own accord. A kind of liberation, uprooting the existing order, perhaps a challenge to a system - the artist finds all these things repress him and he perhaps would like to free himself from them. That is why, the viewer looks on with empathy and at the same time feels catharsis. he hes the books moving in the bookcase. But because he cannot stage such an occurrence, he recreates this revolt with form, and photographs it for visualization. It is an altogether different kind of challenge. It is a struggle against time, and also a confrontation with the impossible. Or it could very well be a response to his psychological states of mind.

Trunk Gallery Director Young Sook Park Translation By Un Young Choi