Jang - Oh Hong

For Blackout, Hong experiments with what happens to art-objects when they become over-exposed through a reverse-method of lighting, resulting in their disappearance. Traditionally, light has symbolised spiritual awakenings, transcendental experiences, a positivist framework, and renaissance-rationality/liberty. However, Hong’s interest is in light’s ability to distort its target, in this case his drawings and blinding his spectators. He explores the multiple manifestations of light as a professional implementation, conceptual tool and physical phenomenon. 

In Blackout, Hong generates a destructive interference where light blurs his drawings’ colours and shapes. The exhibition’s centrepiece is Lucy in Black, a large black diamond mounted on the wall, which is distorted by lights shone not on the image – but into the eyes of the viewers. Through the reversed relationship between light and object, the atmosphere encourages viewers to rethink notions of conventional perception and contemporary enlightenment.