SungYong Hong. From Here to Eternity

South Korean artist SungYong Hong began his creative journey as a photographer, but his keen interest in visual arts soon led him to study optics, computer science, and various printing methods. The perfect blend of artistic sensibility and technical inventiveness in his works invites comparisons with Op art — a visual art style that originated in the USA in the 1960s. Such influential Op artists as Victor Vasarely, Josef Albers, and Bridget Riley introduced new ways of treating materials and working with two-dimensional images. Following closely in their steps, SungYong Hong employs cutting edge technology to explore human nature and our place in the macrocosm.

Artist brings the viewer face to face with the naked emptiness of the Creation. SungYong Hong’s artworks are like a portal that transports the viewer into the hidden heart of the Universe. The artist’s three-dimensional compositions reference both archaic shapes and motifs — circles, pictograms, geometric patterns — and digital photographs of faraway galaxies taken with modern telescopes.

The artist’s chosen medium is the lenticular print, primarily known to us in the form of mass-produced flip effect images: pocket calendars, fridge magnets, and bookmarks. SungYong Hong’s technique, however, is by far more sophisticated: the illusion of depth achieved by superimposing multiple layers spellbinds the viewers and, just like a black hole, draws them into a space warp.  Using simple geometric shapes — spirals, waves, and digital noise combinations — the artist explores the complex relationship between colour and depth, light and darkness.

Each of SungYong Hong’s works is a reflection on who we are, where we came from, and where we are going. The artist has no clear-cut answers to these questions — he leads the viewers to the very edge of an abyss, encouraging them to contemplate the eternity.

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