Installation view of 《Dissolution》 ©ARARIO MUSEUM
ARARIO MUSEUM presents a solo exhibition 《Dissolution》 by artist Min Byung Hun, on
view through April 19, at in SPACE.
This exhibition premieres the artist’s new work, Dissolution
(2026), which shares the title with the exhibition. Min Byung Hun’s film Dissolution
features various scenes of Jeju, where tides, clouds, and rainbows are in
constant motion—breaking apart, dispersing, and vanishing. Through the active
use of reverse motion, the slowly unfolding screen is filled with movements
that feel both familiar and estranged.
Waves are drawn backward as if they are being pulled in, while
bubbles and foam scattered across the screen gradually converge, returning to
the moment just before they broke apart. The film does not track what’s been
reassembled. Instead, what has collapsed returns again, repeating the cycle.
Min is, at his core, a film director. Min’s most recent work is
the documentary film Promise (2023), which recounts an
autobiographical story about his relationship with his son. The last section of
this exhibition showcases an abridged version of Promise.
Installation view of 《Dissolution》 ©ARARIO MUSEUM
Using the poem of his son as a stepping stone, the film quietly
portrays a father and son living with grief beneath the natural landscape of
Jeju. Min moved to Jeju with his son after his wife, who had lung cancer,
expressed her wish to spend the remainder of her life there. However, as her
illness worsened, she underwent treatment at a hospital in Seoul and ultimately
passed away without ever having the chance to stay in their home in Jeju.
In this place marked by absence, Min continued to film his life
with his son in a restrained, steady manner, while capturing Jeju’s natural
environment. After Promise, Min produced a series depicting
Jeju’s landscapes and graves, culminating in Dissolution.
Dissolution does not show only the things
that return. Fish leap powerfully out of the sea, thrashing in midair; seagulls
push forward through the gusts of snow; crows quietly fly between trees with
composure; tiny insects flutter as they search for their mates, bathed in
sunlight streaming into the forest; and a cat strolls across a soft field of
snow. These pulsing forms of life tread on a nature that constantly breaks
apart, advancing toward the time that is yet to come.
