SPONSORS
'Minor Feelings' is part of Craft Contemporary 2023, an annual festival delivered by Craft Victoria. Trocadero Projects is supported by the City of Maribyrnong.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Ellen Yeong Gyeong Son
Having lived in Korea, Singapore and Australia, Ellen occupies a complex cultural position as a contemporary hybrid. She is interested in deconstructing cultural boundaries and linguistic limitations, and investigating how they reshape cultural identities. Ellen employs cellophane as a symbolic representation of a "culturally filtered lens". The act of scratching and sewing on the surface of this cellophane is to metaphorically inscribe, layer and erase diverse cultural memories and experiences one may possess.
Ellen has received multiple grants and awards, including the Chapman & Bailey Award (2016), the National Gallery of Victoria Women’s Association Award (2017), and the Immerse Festival The Best Young Artist Award (2017). Ellen has a Bachelor of Fine Arts with (Honours) from the Victorian College of the Arts and a Masters of Urban and Cultural Heritage from the University of Melbourne.
Hyun-Joo Kim (Julia)
Hyun-Joo (Julia)'s artistic practice navigates the intricate realms of self-identity and relationships in a narrative format. She incorporates traditional arts and crafts rooted in Eastern philosophy, using them as tools to transmute her traumatic memories into creative expressions centred around the human form.
Born in South Korean, Hyun-Joo Kim (Julia) currently lives and works in Melbourne. She was the Sculpture winner in the 70th Annual Art Exhibition at Cairns Art Centre (2017). She has shown internationally at ART MORA Gallery in New York, and locally in Melbourne at galleries including Red Gallery, First Site Gallery and BLACKCAT Gallery. Julia has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Hongik University and a Masters of Fine Art from RMIT University.
Yiwon Park
Yiwon Park is a Korean-Australian artist based in Melbourne whose practice revolves around material investigation with auto-ethnographic storytelling. Referenced to the Pacific Ocean that divides Korea and Australia, she investigates how water is involved in forming her geographical and cultural identities while exploring light, colour and rituals in Korea. For Yiwon, artmaking is a way to understand the boundaries and relationships surrounding her.
Yiwon has exhibited in Seoul, Sydney, Hong Kong and Melbourne at galleries including Art Artium, RMIT Gallery, Firstdraft, UNSW Galleries, Tin Sheds Gallery and Janet Clayton Gallery. Yiwon received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Korea and completed a Masters by Research at the University of New South Wales Art and Design (2014). Yiwon is a current PhD candidate at RMIT University in Fine Arts. Yiwon is currently represented by Art Atrium, Sydney.
Sun 8 Oct - Sun 22 Oct, 2023
Minor Feelings,
Presented by Trocadero Projects
Opening Event: Sun 8 Oct, 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Minor Feelings is an immersive exhibition that delves into the profound experiences of migrant Korean women in Australia. Presented by Trocadero Projects as part of Craft Contemporary, and curated by Kelly Yoon, the exhibition features new work by emerging Korean-Australian artists: Ellen Yeong Gyeong Son, Hyun-Joo Kim (Julia) and Yiwon Park. Minor Feelings aims to shed light on the complexities of hybrid identities and the lasting repercussions of trauma while celebrating each artists' resilience in the eternal search for belonging.
The exhibition's title, Minor Feelings, originates from Cathy Park Hong's autobiographical essay "Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning." Mirroring Cathy Park Hong's fearless cultural criticism, the exhibition showcases each artists' intimate and personal relationship to their adopted culture and home, using contemporary craft processes which include textiles, paper, resin and clay.
ABOUT THE CURATOR
Kelly Yoon
Kelly is an independent curator based in Melbourne exploring themes of ethnicity, language, gender, and political beliefs from her unique perspective as a 1.5-generation immigrant. Kelly's curatorial focus has evolved to celebrate personal transformation and resilience in the face of adversity, whether it be personal traumas or experiences of racism. She has been developing shows and public programs with a strong focus on community outreach fostering inclusiveness across sociocultural barriers.
Kelly has a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Arts Curatorship from the University of Melbourne. She won the Best Emerging Artist/Curator Award at the Melbourne Fringe Festival (2018). Kelly has collaborated with council libraries, universities, galleries, and social enterprises in designing and facilitating art events. She is currently a Co-Deputy Chair at Trocadero Projects.