current project in development

Separation Anxiety (working title), video


"Separation Anxiety" is a video installation piece. This piece has juxtaposed video components of my dad's interview and my little niece singing and dancing. This project examines the two distinct experiences of childhood of my dad and my niece in two different eras. My dad recounts his struggles as a child during the Korean War. He escaped his hometown as the North Korean soldiers marched south. He was separated from his parents. In contrast, my three year old niece is far removed from such hardships of the war over fifty years later. Translation from Korean to English will be provided in the form of either caption or voice over.

Growing up in South Korea, my dad used to share with us his story of deprivation during the Korean War as a child and growing up in the post war era. He would repeat these stories of his childhood whenever he drank. Because these stories always ended up with a lecture on how spoiled we were compared to his own childhood, where he witnessed a war, we would do our best to avoid listening to these stories. I left home in Seoul, Korea at the age of 17, and I never had a chance to hear that story again since now. As an adult, I am ready to revisit his remarkable experience.

In the interview, he talks about his life as a war refugee and how his love for study eventually lead him to become an Orthopedic Surgeon, from the poverty that the war provided him.

Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Rocehster, New York
6x6x2009, Group Exhibition
June 6 - July 12, 2009

New Art in Austin, Austin Museum of Art traveling show
DiverseWorks, Houston, Texas. May 1 - June 13, 2009

Wichita Falls Museum of Art at Midwestern State University, Texas
The Second Biennial Survey of Texas Art and Artists
April 3 – June 6, 2009

Cell video projection at the planetarium

forthcoming exhibitions

Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, Florida
YOON CHO, Solo Exhibition
Sept 25 - Oct 31, 2009

recent press & announcements

• Judy Birkel, "'Family,’ in fine, revealing variations comes alive at Parachute Factory Gallery," New Haven Register, February 8, 2009.

• Allan Appel, "'Family Business' On Display," New Haven Independent, January 6, 2009.

• Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, American-Statesman Arts Critic, "In the arts, the Eight from 2008," Austin American Statesman, December 25, 2008.

• "Family Business" at The Parachute Factory Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut: "Exhibit portrays families," Yale Daily News, December 2, 2008.

• YOON CHO has relocated back to New York in Aug 2008. With all inquiries, please contact her at yoon@yooncho.com.

• Brochure essay by Amanda Douberley for YOON CHO's solo exhibition, "Nothing Lasts Forever," at the Women and Their Work. For a hard copy, please contact Women and Their Work gallery.

• YOON CHO's portfolio has been added to the Flat File at the PIEROGI gallery in Brooklyn, New York. The video project, How to Spell My Name, is also available at the gallery.