Korean artist BOO Jihyun, the sole Korean participant in the Setouchi Triennale 2025, has permanently installed her large-scale installation The Home at Uno Port in Setouchi, Japan.
 
Born in 1979 on Jeju Island, BOO Jihyun has continued to create works that amplify her autobiographical memories and experiences of the sea, visually reconstructing them within space to awaken aesthetic sensibilities. The artist reinterprets the use of fishing lamps and other objects by creating atmospheric and immersive installations to materialize the intangible elements of the sea, such as darkness, sound, and the horizon. 

The sublimation of discarded fishing lamps, which once attracted fish, as works of art, which now attract people, reveals a sensational and unprecedented experience. The Home, installed at Uno Port in Setouchi, is made from discarded fishing lights, metal structures, and mirrors. Designed to absorb, reflect, and respond to the ever-changing surrounding light, the work appears in constant motion.

According to an interview with JoongAng Ilbo, artist BOO Jihyun stated that the piece was “imagined as a spaceship engine” and embodies “a journey toward a world of other possibilities.” By situating the work on the shoreline, the artist sought to visually represent “the origin of all things, the place where all existence begins.” Through this, viewers are invited to reflect on their identity, memory, origins, destination, and the essence of their existence.

The Setouchi Triennale is an art festival held every three years across 17 sites throughout the Seto Inland Sea region, including the islands of Naoshima, Teshima, Inujima, Uno Port, and other coastal areas. Launched in 2010, the Triennale was initiated as a way to revitalize local communities through art and has since grown into one of Japan’s most prominent international art festivals. This year, over 210 artists from 37 countries are presenting 256 works. Among them, BOO Jihyun has been selected as one of the three featured artists of the 2025 edition.

BOO Jihyun graduated from the Department of Western Painting at Jeju National University and earned her master’s degree from the Media Print Department at Sungshin Women’s University. She has held solo exhibitions at the ARARIO GALLERY (Seoul, 2024), Lighting Museum (Yangju, 2022), Yeoncheon Art House (Yeoncheon, 2021), Whanki Museum (Seoul, 2021), UNESCO HQ (Paris, 2018), and more.  

She also has participated in Jeju Biennale (Jeju, 2024, 2017), Gwangju Design Biennale (Gwangju, 2021), Galeria Salihara (Jakarta, 2021), Vladivostok Biennale (Vladivostok, 2017), and Kuandu Biennale (Taipei, 2012).

References

• 세토우치 트리엔날레 2025 (Setouchi Triennale 2025)
• 아라리오갤러리, 부지현 (ARARIO GALLERY, BOO Jihyun)
• 중앙일보, 부지현 작가의 조형물 '더 홈', 세토우치 우노항에 영구 설치, 2025.05.05