"Cycles of Return": A Duo Exhibition by Korean artists Juno Seunghui Joo and Sion Kim

Independent curator Vera Hadzhiyska is happy to present a sensitive new exhibition opening this November in Art Space Portsmouth, showcasing the work of emerging Korean artists Juno Seunghui Joo (주승희) and Sion Kim (김시온). Through photography, drawing, and traditional Korean materials, the exhibition explores the universal experience of mortality—how life and death are processed, remembered, and honoured.

Together, the artists create an immersive, multi-sensory installation that invites visitors into a contemplative space where personal memory intersects with cultural ritual. By drawing on Korean traditions, “Cycles of Return” opens a cross-cultural dialogue on death, grief, spirituality, and remembrance, offering audiences in Portsmouth a rare opportunity to engage with Korean contemporary art and heritage.

Juno Seunghui Joo reinterprets Korean rituals and folklore surrounding death through staged, cinematic photography. Her project ‘What a death made us do’ is an intimate portrayal of her grandmother’s life and death. Using mise-en-scène and cultural symbolism, Joo constructs powerful imagery that reflects on the universal yet deeply personal nature of memory, mourning, and the body as a vessel of history.

Sion Kim works by handcrafting layered surfaces with pigments and fibres to create spatial works that merge drawing, texture, and scent. Inspired by Korean architectural forms such as the sumaksae (수막새瓦, curved roof tile), her work contemplates the form’s journey through cycles of return, memory, and transformation.

The exhibition is part of Hadzhiyska’s sustained commitment to representing emerging Korean artists and broadening the presence of Korean art within the UK art scene.

Curator Vera Hadzhiyska, says about the exhibition:
“Cycles of Return is a tender meditation on how cultures and individuals make sense of mortality. By weaving Korean traditions into contemporary practice, Juno and Sion create an intimate space, reminding us of the cyclical nature of life and the enduring presence of human memory.

We hope the themes of the exhibition will resonate with the local community, offering visitors a safe space to reflect on and honour their personal experiences of grief, while also mourning losses felt on a global scale.”

Audiences will have the opportunity to meet the artists and learn more about their creative process during the Artist Talk which will take place on Sunday 23 November, 2 - 4 pm.

The exhibition is kindly supported by the British Korean Society.