Goodbye Stranger 2: Park Hyundoo
Park Hyundoo shows the isolation of modern people through playful and striking images. He places lonely figures inside familiar spaces such as TV studios or musical theatres. These spaces are usually made for communication and public attention, but in his work, the figures appear cut off from their original context.
The TV studio and musical stage appear often in his work. They are key sites of spectacle in modern society. Each functions as a device that produces images and events for mass audiences. For many people today, television and other media shape how we see reality. Our experience of the world is increasingly filtered and expanded through media.
Modern society constantly combines elements that seem unable to fit together, producing something new. When a person appears in a space where they do not belong, that space also begins to feel strange. In a similar way, Park places individuals who do not match the original purpose of a TV set. TV sets are built to be assembled and taken apart again and again. By bringing these isolated individuals into such spaces and filming them, he creates a new kind of spectacle. Through this, he shows the loneliness of modern people who struggle to connect.
Park turns familiar places into spaces that suddenly feel unfamiliar. When our usual way of seeing no longer works, hidden meanings can appear. The journey to find real meanings begins at that moment. The German playwright Bertolt Brecht describe this approach in theater as “alienation effect” (Verfremdungseffekt). By making familiar situations seem strange, Brecht prevented emotional immersion and encouraged the audience to think critically about what they were watching.
In a similar way, Park steps back from the self and looks at the general condition of modern life through media settings. He does not simply present reality as it is. He breaks it apart and rebuilds it, adding critical awareness while also creating strong visual appeal. Through this process, he raises careful questions about the conditions of life in contemporary society.
Son Yeongsil (Chief Curator, Seoul Museum of Art)