Yoyojin (Hojin Im)
Yoyojin’s practice explores the relationship between image and peace, and the meaning of individual existence within politically complex social systems. Working across illustration, animation, AI, sound, and live painting performance, he approaches multilayered contemporary issues with a strong sense of empathy.
His nearly ten years of living and working in Zambia continue to shape his artistic vision deepening his commitment to cross-cultural dialogue and reinforcing his belief in art as a powerful tool for human connection.
“Your Free Nation” explores the fragile, often absurd foundations of nationhood. I began this project with the belief that nations are not fixed territories, but shared fictions constructed through mutual agreement, and just as easily dissolved. It can shift overnight through natural disasters, war, bureaucracy, or ideology. What fascinates me is not what a nation is, but what remains when that imagined structure collapses.
Through a multi-layered AI system, visitors are invited to scan their appearance and generate their own ideal nation. Each participant receives a uniquely crafted poetic constitution, national flag, and anthem reminding us that a nation is not a tangible object, but a collection of invisible symbols. It is something deeply emotional, highly personal, and fundamentally arbitrary.
This work poses a quiet yet urgent question:
When the systems we rely on collapse, what inner structures do we carry that allow us to begin again?
Project Gallery
