When our family disowns us, our nation disowns us. We are left with two options: become displaced or reclaim our country from the margin. Korean sculptor Haneyl Choi reclaims byung-poong, the traditional Korean folding screen. Using byung-poong as a locus bridging global queer identity with Korean national pride, Choi examines the collision between traditional values and queer liberation, domestic and national life, old ways and new—dynamic tensions that animate historical social divisions as well as the possibility of resolving them in a radically revised national identity.

As an impromptu room divider, byung-poong provides a mechanism of inclusion and exclusion through the parceling of domestic space—making room while also sequestering it. It also comprises a double-sided pictorial surface that itself defines an expressive space between spaces, characterized by its unique accordion-like geometry. Traitor's Patriotism, Choi’s first U.S. exhibition, marks the 4th stage in his five-part structural reconsideration of byung-poong. Previous iterations have systematically developed three-dimensional elaborations on the traditional two-dimensional screen format. In Traitor’s Patriotism, Choi dismantles the physical and conceptual frame of byung-poong, making it completely three dimensional—not just placed between spaces but having its own space, which is in turn articulated by two-dimensional paintings. 

Taking up byung-poong as an art medium, Choi transcends its customary function, letting its intrinsic folding and unfolding provoke more expansive movements. He uses diverse materials and colors not typically associated with byung-poong, recontextualizing and transforming its principal features to enact a “treasonous” break with tradition. But his revolt is also fervent revival: the old eyes of love turning to embrace the new world, with no barriers and room enough for all.

Haneyl Choi (b. 1991, Seoul, Korea) received an MFA from the Korea National University of Art and a BFA in sculpture from Seoul National University. He has had solo exhibitions at sansumunhwa (Seoul, 2018) and Hapjungjigu (Seoul, 2017). Selected group exhibitions include Genre Allegory - The Sculptural (Total Museum, Seoul, 2018), Eve (24 Wangsan-ro 9-gil, Seoul, 2018), Seoul Mediacity Biennale 2018: Eu Zên (Living Well) (SeMA, Seoul, 2018), Beyond Thinking (Goyang Aram Nuri Arts Center, 2018), Tasteview (Tastehouse, Seoul, 2017), 2X2 (Audio Visual Pavilion, Seoul, 2017), Lotus Land (Asia Culture Center, Gwangju, 2017), and December (Audio Visual Pavilion, Seoul, 2016).

This exhibition was made possible by the generous support of the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism; the Korean Arts Management Service; and the Fund for Korean Art Abroad.