Impossible Connections is a two-person exhibition featuring the works of artists Gi (Ginny) Huo and Gyun Hur. The title of the exhibition refers to an inquiry by poet and translator Don Mee Choi shared in her text, “Translation is a Mode=Translation is an Anti-neocolonial Mode.” Choi questions whether true translation is possible, from the Korean language to English, citing the misalignments forged by “neocolonial war, militarism, and neoliberal economy” as insurmountable barriers—spaces of “impossible connections” that cannot be overcome simply by crossing “linguistic and national borders.”
Huo and Hur share an affinity for creating from and within these exact spaces of translational misalignment cited by Choi. Both of their practices grow from these unfathomable locations, allowing the literal and metaphorical notions of negative space, vacuum, impasse, and secrecy to become portals to new understanding and transcendence. Threads between the artistic practices of the two artists appear like a constellation: faint at first, but with time and attention the shapes formed become unmistakable. Their stars are bound by a shared dedication to poetry, faith, and the sometimes subtle, sometimes unwieldy ways in which familial histories emerge through otherwise inconspicuous locations and objects.
Ginny Huo’s recent works have been guided by an interest in connection, severance, and reunion as seen through the political and natural divisions at the DMZ (demilitarized zone) on the Korean peninsula. Using telephone lines that cross the border, as well as images from her family archive, Huo’s work pieces together a story of immigration, war, religious systems, and the interconnected nature of these subjects. Huo shares a series of new drawings, 선/line (2024), and a newly produced large-scale sculptural work that expands from the simple line, as well as the wall-based piece, 끝(kkeut) II (2024) and her book, calling/부름, 2022 that pulls from cultural and familial inheritance.
Glass and water have been central materials in Gyun Hur’s practice—their malleability and power pointing to key themes of resilience, resistance, and vulnerability. Composition of us and the river (2021 - present), There is a land beyond the river 저 건너편 강 언덕에 (2021), and Intercessors (2024) visualize holding, carrying, and caring, while simultaneously inviting questions of what is beyond and what cannot be contained. Her work places equal weight on physical materiality and the non-visible—the specific sources of the water, the empty spaces within her tear-shared vessels, and the healing and spiritual qualities of water itself. Hur also presents wall-based archival images paired with personal writing and drawings that traverse timelines and conceptions of lineage.
When Huo and Hur first met, they not only shared similar interests in their artistic practices, but also discovered they were distant relatives. The Korean surname “허,” like the surnames of many immigrants has been anglicized and spelled in a variety of ways. Huo and Hur are both “허.” But in English, the letters O and R are separated by two letters, they are not the same and they cannot be connected. And yet, the two artists exclaimed, “We’re related!” Here is an impossible connection, connected nonetheless.
Impossible Connections is curated by Claire Kim and was made possible through the support of Asianish. Exhibition and graphic design was created in collaboration with Tasnima Tanzim.