Isolated Island: 고립된 섬

Hye Yeon Shin was born in 1981 in Seoul, South Korea. She received a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA), and a Master of Art (MA) from Ewha Womans University. She has presented three selected solo exhibitions in Korea and 35 group exhibitions internationally.

She is a visual artist who looks at the relationships between people and cities, particularly gentrification and redevelopment of residential areas around the globe. From the perspective of a foreigner living in an international community, she explores philosophical and conceptual thinking about a city through the creation of sculptures and installations made from discarded objects.

Hye Yeon’s work contains stories about social issues affecting urban space and development as a result of globalization and late-stage capitalism. She has been tracing and mapping the individual and cultural psychological impacts of significant development events in Korea. Her core research interests have expanded to include the gentrification and redevelopment of residential areas across the world and the emotions evoked. In her sculpture and improvisatory installation work, she utilizes the contents of philosophical and conceptual thoughts that originated from her experiences and memories of over-development.