Shape of the Wall

Y-ul Suh

I explore the wall ranging from building material to a psychological wall, and how it affects our behavior, movement, and way of thinking. During my research, there have been many shifts in my relationship with the wall. It was a process to discover this object that is inevitably and tightly weaved into our lives. My perspective has changed several times, from seeing this object as a symbol of limitation, creating simultaneously a stronger mental wall bringing me an urge to break down what creates the disconnection between us, to realizing that at the same time how much it has become fundamental in our lives in terms of giving a definition to space and creating interior space where we have spent more and more time within. Now, I am reaching a point where I am rediscovering the potential of a wall as an object that is in fact creating connections and relationships, and making passageways on the horizon of overflowing possibilities.

Through interior monologue and conversations and various media, I attempt to reveal the experiences of confrontations and connections around walls which we all share. It is a journey of exploring the complexity of it and discovering it as a living material that is not just rigid nor solid, rather that it is fluid, ever-changing, like an organism.

What is the shape of your wall?, 2021

Ghostly Lines, 2019

Transparent walls and lines are placed in the corridor where people pass by. These structures crossing the corridor are named walls and lines, but they are in a subtle, fragile, and transparent forms. They do not have the ability to block the view or completely divide the space. This is built as a metaphor that reveals the fragility and contradictions of the concept of the line and wall. These feeble lines and walls nevertheless limit the movement of people passing by. Possibilities of transformation or destruction of the installation constantly exist in the space according to the movement of the audience. Even damaged installations become part of the work. The metaphor of the nonsense reveals.

Installation view
In collaboration with Seyoung Ok
Vinyl film, acrylic pipes, magnet

Y-ul Suh, born in Berlin, Germany and raised in South Korea, is a visual artist who often explores the subtle context of subjects that are indescribable in words and seeks the possibilities of communication in visual language. She works with various media such as glass, video, installation and 3D animation. She is based in Berlin and currently finishing the MA of Visual Media Anthropology at Freie Universität Berlin, and holds BFA in Fine Arts from Korea National University of Arts.