CIRCLES
by Youngji Cho
Photos by Studio Bettina Pelz, Jennifer Braun and Young Masters, Fish Tank.
Circles
A circle is often considered the most perfect geometric shape. In spirituality, circles refer to the supernatural or divine. However, a circle can be recognised as a polygon with infinite angles too. Its contrast of concepts of perfection and imperfection is an interesting feature to discover. The graphical properties, the spiritual aspects, and the aesthetic qualities of a circle generated varied meanings in various semiotic conventions. A circle can be a dot, a ball, a sun, a bubble, a halo, a religious symbol, a logo of a company, a bottle cap from the top view, a button, a window, an art piece, a manhole cover, a cd, etc. Youngji Cho collected over 2000 pieces of footage of circular forms and structures from her daily life and online open sources, and used them as the raw material for generative AI images. A digitally animated collage of AI-generated images of Youngji Cho’s circle collection is projected onto the wall of the Engelsburg building in Neustift. There is a circular shaped mirror hanging on the opposite side of the projection of the collage, reflecting the projection and the audience in the space. This work was premiered in Brixen Water Light Festival 2023 in Italy.
Images by Youngji Cho.
Youngji Cho
Youngji Cho is a media artist and playful researcher based in South Korea and Germany. Her work addresses the themes of circulation and harmony between art and technology, living and non-living beings, and nature and non-nature. She has a particular interest in the shape of a circle, which serves as a metaphor for the contradiction of perfection and imperfection in every being. As a transdisciplinary artist, she does not limit herself to any one specific field in her artistic and research pursuits, but instead explores areas that spark her interest. She is using technology to make her imagination realized in the world. She exhibited her media art works at Sonic Act Festival, V2_ lab for unstable media in Rotterdam, Nederland film festival and many other venues in South Korea and the Netherlands. For the recent two years, she taught digital transformation design, DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion), and creative coding in Amsterdam University of Applied Science. She graduated from Yonsei University in South Korea with a Bachelor of Arts and Science in 2016 and studied Media technology at Leiden University afterward. Since 2022, she studies in Digital Media master’s studio at the University of the Arts Bremen.
| EXHIBITIONS | |
| 2023 | Brixen (IT), Water Light Festival, Engelsburg in Neustift, Water Light Lab |
| 2019 | Amsterdam (NL), Sonic Acts Festival, Stedelijk Museum, Accidental Geopoetics |
| 2018 | Amsterdam (NL), Sonic Acts Academy, Sensing The Place |
| 2017 | Rotterdam (NL), V2_ Lab For The Unstable Media, Language |
| 2017 | Utrecht (NL), Netherlands Film Festival, Medialab SETUP |
| 2017 | Leiden (NL), Nacht van Kunst en Kennis (currently ‘Nacht van Ontdekkingen’) |
| 2017 | Leiden (NL), Meelfabriek, New Media New Technology Expo |
| 2016 | Seoul (KR), Place SAI, Boundary of the Compressed Space |
| 2015 | Wonju (KR), Yonsei Gallery, LED: Light Electronic Devices |
| 2015 | Seoul (KR), Art Space Geumcheon, Davinci Creative |
| 2012 | Yeongwol (KR), Donggang Digital Society, Lights and Colors |
| Talks [T] / Workshops [W] | |
| 2021 | Montreal (CA), World Design Organization, World Industrial Design Day 2021, Let’s talk: diversity [T] |
| 2021 | Amsterdam (NL), Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Art + Design Thinking [W] |
| 2020 | Amsterdam (NL), Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Creative Ideation [W] |
| 2020 | Barcelona (ES), IAM Weekend 2020, Designing a Multi-sensory Future [W] |
| 2020 | Amsterdam (NL), Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Creatives and Coders: New Media Art [W] |
| 2019 | Rotterdam (NL), ThingsCon 2019, Human-Machine Interaction [W] |
| 2019 | Amsterdam (NL), Digital Society School, Creative Documentation: Portfolio Making [W] |
| 2019 | Amsterdam (NL), Digital Society School, Maker’s Sprint [W] |
| STUDIES | |
| 2022 – | Bremen (DE), University of the Arts Bremen, Digital Media, Master studio |
| 2016 – 2022 | Leiden (NL), Leiden University, Media Technology |
| 2017 – 2018 | Den Haag (NL), Royal Academy of Arts The Hague, ArtScience |
| 2012 – 2016 | Wonju & Seoul (KR), Yonsei University, Digital Arts (Minor: Visual Communication Design), Bachlor of Arts & Science |
| BIO | |
| Since 2022 | Lives in Bremen (DE) |
| 2016 – 2022 | Lived in Leiden & Den Haag & Amsterdam (NL) |
| 2015 – 2016 | Lived in Seoul & Wonju (KR) |
| 2014 – 2015 | Lived in Den Haag (NL) |
| 2012 – 2014 | Lived in Wonju & Seoul (KR) |
| 1994 | Born in Daegu (KR) |
| LINKS |
| vimeo.com/ozzo |