London

Ran Hwang

Multimedia sculptor | Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

A plethora of pins and buttons

Ran creates works with a vast array of materials from the fashion industry
Her installation pieces can be immense enough to encompass walls, floors and ceilings
She splits her time working between Korea and New York

From her ornate bird of prey wings to her elaborate crystal tiaras, Ran Hwang's large-scale pieces are constructed with thousands of pins, threads and seemingly countless beads, buttons and crystals. She first studied applied arts in her native South Korea before pursuing fine art at the School of Visual Arts in New York. "While working at an embroidery company in the fashion district, my attention was caught by cast-off materials, particularly buttons and thread," she says. From there, Ran's inventory expanded to other common fashion materials, including compressed mulberry buttons, beads, crystals, mother-of-pearls, nails and thread. Witnessing the tragic September 11 attacks led her to incorporate themes of destruction, human fragility and resilience into her work.

Interview

Do your works carry hidden meanings?: I explore the meaning of relationships in our daily lives. I attempt to visualise them by connecting pins with threads. The pins symbolise human beings, and the interconnected threads represent the social relationships that link us together. These threads express all forms of communication we share – life and death, joy and sorrow, anger and meditation.
Do you intentionally work with shadows?: At first, I discovered the shadows by chance. I quickly became fascinated by their effect and began integrating them intentionally into my work. Now, I carefully adjust the height of the pins and buttons, considering the multiple layers of imagery and depth that the shadows create.
Is there a piece you identify most with?: One of the works I feel most connected to is Another Freedom, which I created through Meta's Artist in Residence programme. I had previously created separate works featuring the eagle and the phoenix, but in this installation, I brought them together as symbols of America and Asia in one single hybrid creature. This piece also reflects my optimistic outlook on life.
What is your favourite part of installing an artwork?: It takes more than a thousand hammer strikes to fasten buttons onto a wall or panel. Through this repetitive action, I often find myself entering a deep meditative state. That process becomes not only an act of creation but also a moment of introspection and healing.

Ran Hwang is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2001