The seminar featured Dr Kyung Hwa Shon, cross-disciplinary artist, researcher and Research Tutor at the Royal College of Art, alongside Dr Christin Yu, Lecturer in Cultural Studies, Fashion Histories and Theories at Central Saint Martins.
Dr Shon opened the seminar by introducing her research practice, which centres on walking as a creative process. She explained how walking ‘turns the body into a medium for reflection’ allowing her to draw on childhood memories of exploring spaces with curiosity and openness and without preconception.
Dr Shon went on to discuss her 2021–2022 commissioned project Excess of Elsewhere, a large-scale colourful mural created for the Meta T2 reception space at King’s Cross. The work was shaped by extensive exploration of the area, translating the layered and fast-moving experience of the city into a dynamic visual form. Through colour, line, and rhythm, the mural reflects the fragmented and constantly shifting nature of urban life.
The presentation concluded with insight into Dr Shon’s current research, which draws on East Asian philosophy and re-examines historical architectural fragments, particularly roof tiles. She shared imagery documenting her material processes, which combined archival research with experimental techniques. She discussed the importance of personal and intergenerational histories within this work. For example, her exploration of intergenerational memory through roof tiles from her own grandparents’ home, including a tile gifted by her father ground into pigment for use in her artwork.
The second presentation was delivered by Dr Christin Yu, who reflected on her personal and professional journey as a London-based artist and academic, born in Toronto and previously based in New York. She situated her work within the context of diasporic identity, drawing on her family’s migration history and her own experiences of cultural dislocation and ‘melancholia’.
Dr Yu discussed her early career as a textile designer within the luxury fashion industry, including work for Alexander McQueen, where she drew on traditional Korean techniques within her designs. She reflected on how industry expectations around appearance and ‘chic’ presentation shaped both her professional identity and self-perception.
Dr Yu then introduced her current research project, which involves tracing what is believed to be the earliest documented example of Korean patchwork. She described her discovery of a patchwork cloth bundle held within the archives of the American Museum of Natural History, noting that it had been incorrectly catalogued, an issue she highlighted as common within museum archives, particularly in relation to non-Western artifacts. Raising important questions around classification, visibility and the documentation of Korean textile traditions.
The seminar concluded with an engaging audience Q&A session, connecting common themes within the speaker's work. We would like to thank Dr Kyung Hwa Shon and Dr Christin Yu for their generous and insightful contributions, and for sharing their research and creative practices so openly with the audience. Their talks brought the year’s CKS seminar series to a memorable close.