Young Deok Seo

Seo YoungDeok was born in Seoul in 1983 where he still lives and works.

His depictions of bodies seemingly “under construction” are made out of thousands of
bicycle chain links that the artist painstakingly connects together in an what appears to be an endless pattern. The actual choice of recycling bicycle chains, a medium whose main purpose is already passed, anchors Seo’s work in a cyclic time frame, re-using materials society originally disposed of. Ironically, the natural shapes created by this cold and dark material, whether it be a human’s face with closed eyes, or a body surfacing from the background, is imbued with an emotion which is both strong and peaceful. The final uneven aspect of the outside shell of the sculptures recalls the emergence of cells being duplicated, a DNA chain intentionally left unfinished or even the complexity of modern societies.
More globally, this emphasizes on the new generations’ anxiety in regards to the pressure of their environment and raises the question on whether we do really have to be a link of the chain to exist.

While he graduated in 2008, Seo Young Deok's work is already in major collections worldwide (Alembic Pharmaceuticals LTD, India; DSB s.r., Italy; Sungkok Art Museum, Korea; Gallery Hyundai, Korea; etc.) and has had solo shows in major galleries, from Korea to Istanbul via Hong Kong.