CreatripTeam

Sculptor Jung Hyun (age 69) presents a retrospective at PKM Gallery, Seoul, titled “His Overlapping Moments,” showing 84 works from 1991–2025. Notable are charcoal tree sculptures made from wood salvaged after the 2019 Goseong wildfire. Previously working with industrial materials, Jung shifted toward ecological themes after repeatedly collecting scorched wood with fellow artists. Earlier shows displayed the charred wood with metal inlays (a symbolic wish for revival) and now with white powder makeup (bun chil, a cosmetic-like white coating). Jung says he treats the burned trees as if cremating and then “making up” the deceased; yet the raw, unadorned charcoal pieces powerfully convey nature’s wounds and wild voices, which some feel are muted by the white coating.