Perigee Gallery presents a solo exhibition 《Dreary Tangerine》 by Don Sunpil, on view through July 26.

Don Sunpil's exhibition, which began with his interest in Tokusatsu (特撮), has been given the unique title 《Dreary Tangerine》. This was the name of a fictional book that appeared in a Japanese manga translated into Korean. It emerged as a mistranslation by the translator, who failed to catch the original pun in the Japanese version. Although a revised edition later corrected it with a footnote, the awkward word had already taken root. The artist finds such translation errors intriguing.

Tokusatsu (特撮) refers to a process combining various attempts to recreate fictional time-spaces in reality—including those that have not yet arrived or have already disappeared. What the artist finds particularly compelling is that, even after filming is complete, the objects involved still remain as tangible entities. Masks, suits, monster bodies, diorama sets portraying cityscapes—these are all created while negotiating unavoidable constraints of necessity and limitation. Even after shooting concludes, they remain in reality, preserving strange traces of their fictional forms.

Meanwhile, the exhibition intricately unfolds a cyclical structure in which stories that begin with personal life, hobbies, or work disperse into sculpture, writing, and video—only to return again as objects. The artist does not forcibly seal the gaps between text and form, the external transformations of materiality, or the moments when surfaces crack open. Instead, these are revealed as they are. Maintaining a precisely measured distance, the artist repeatedly begins anew from what emerges during the act of observation.

The study of figurines offers a compelling example that encapsulates the structure and character of Tokusatsu. The artist analyzes not only the precise reproduction of a figurine’s appearance but also the coexisting elements that deviate from realistic proportions and balance. This approach can be perceived differently depending on the viewer—beautiful and alluring to some, strange and uncanny to others, as a peculiar hybrid form.

The artist follows Tokusatsu unfolding what they perceive exactly as it is, without exaggeration or omission. This becomes an act of expressing something not yet clearly defined, allowing the audience to see what can be seen, and feel what can be felt.

In the exhibition, viewers will each be drawn to different elements. We are prompted to make choices among various points, and the errors, misinterpretations, and inevitable misunderstandings that follow are accepted as part of the natural process. It is through this that a new foundation is laid—reconfiguring time and space in layered dimensions—and in doing so, opens the door to new possibilities of creation.

“Dreary Tangerine”
2025.05.30 - 2025.07.26
Mon-Sat 10:30 am – 6:00 pm
Perigee Gallery
18, Banpo-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul, Korea