SURIN SEO


Exhibition Designer & Researcher
Exploring layered sensory experiences beyond space.  




Exhibition Design
Nam June Paik, Nam June Paik, Nam June Paik
James Rosenquist: Universe
Ordinary People, Splendid History
Climate of Cinema: Isle, the Planet and Postcontact Zone
Collection: The Great Journey


Design Project
Museum of the Deep
Subvision
Semiotics of the Waterways



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Nam June Paik, Nam June Paik, and Nam June Paik

30.11.2024 - 16.03.2025


The exhibition "Nam June Paik, Nam June Paik, and Nam June Paik" is a large-scale retrospective that explores the artistic world of media art pioneer Nam June Paik, divided into three key periods.
“My Jubilee ist Unverhemmet: The Mid-1980s” introduces Paik’s early experimental spirit through the Fluxus movement and his first solo exhibition in 1963. “Nam June Paik Film” presents ten representative video works that reflect his life and artistic vision, including Global Groove (1973), which served as the starting point of the exhibition’s planning, and The Moon Is the Oldest TV, which marks the final chapter of the film section. “Nam June Paik’s World: The Late 1980s–2006” showcases his later works, such as the iconic TV Robot Series, Forest of Cage, and 108 Torments, highlighting his unique media sculptures and the fusion of nature and technology.


Curated by: Museum of Contemporary Art Busan
Co-Curated by: Nam June Paik Art Cente
Photo: Studio Jeongbiso
Exhibition Spatial Design






James Rosenquist:  Universe

05.07.2024 - 31.10.2024


The exhibition “James Rosenquist: Universe” showcases his innovative endeavors to push the boundaries of painting and his lifelong exploration of the universe, time, and space. The exhibition aims to bring together the artist’s works chronologically, spanning from his early works, which demonstrate not only his radical experiments with s, pushing the boundaries of the field of painting, but also his innovative use of vibrant color palettes to his later works, which explore the possibilities of perception of time and space, surrealist compositions, and abstract techniques. The exhibition will also feature the artist’s ‘source collage’ works, which served as a preparatory approach to imagery, illuminating his practice, influences, and motivations in depth.
(Sehwa Museum of Art)

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The exhibition space was designed with inspiration from Rosenquist’s early billboard work, using steel pipe frames as a defining visual element. A bright white gallery introduces the vastness of the universe, while a transition through a tunnel leads into a deep navy space. Here, focused lighting on the artworks enhances a dreamlike, immersive atmosphere.


Curated by: Sehwa Museum of Art
Photo: Sehwa Museum of Art

Exhibition Spatial Design






Ordinary People, Splendid History

27.10.2023 - 25.02.2024


Ordinary People, Splendid History focuses on everyday people and their daily lives as seen in Korean art, from the late Joseon Dynasty to the present. The exhibition looks at how the lives and appearances of ordinary people have changed throughout different periods in Korean history. At the same time, it offers a broad view of the rich and diverse developments in Korean art history. Visitors are invited to travel through time, encountering portraits and scenes from past and present. Through this journey, the exhibition hopes to create a special moment where the everyday lives of people from the past connect with our lives today.
(Gyeongnam Art Museum)

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To reflect the theme of time flowing across generations, semi-transparent polycarbonate walls were used so visitors can see through both ends of the exhibition halls. A barrier-free design was applied throughout, with bright lighting in all areas, including media spaces, and plenty of seating spots for visitors to rest.


Curated by: Gyeongnam Art Museum
Photo: Studio Jeongbiso

Exhibition Spatial Design
Construction Supervision






Climate of Cinema: Isle, the Planet and Postcontact Zone

06.04.2023 - 06.08.2023


The Busan Museum of Contemporary Art is inaugurating BusanMoCA Cinemedia a biennial exhibition for the first time this year. 2023 Busan MoCA Cinema Media Climate of Cinema: Isle , the Planet and Postcontact Zone delves into the intersections between ecology, anthropology, political economy, and the history of film. It underscores the entanglements between the climate crisis, the climate of history, and the climate of cinema, emphasizing the significance of ‘planetary thinking’ through the notions of ‘slow cinema’ and ‘slow science’.
(Busan Museum of Contemporary Art)

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To reflect the themes of climate crisis, the Anthropocene, and ecological perspectives, the exhibition space incorporates Euroform panels commonly used at Korean construction sites. Discarded Euroform plywood was collected and reused to build the exhibition walls, while temporary wall construction was minimized to reduce material waste.


Curated by: Busan Museum of Contemporary Art
Photo: Studio Jeongbiso

Exhibition Spatial Design Assist.
Construction Supervision






Lee Kun-hee Collection Modern and Contemporary Korean Art Spacial Exhibition
Collection: The Great Journey

11.11.2022 - 29.01.2023


Collection: The Great Journey has brought together collections of diverse collectors that have built their own identity in the art scene along with the Lee Kun-hee collection.
(Busan Museum of Art)

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Rather than following a historical timeline, the exhibition focuses on showcasing collections by institution. To highlight the artworks themselves, the space was kept simple and clean with white walls. Since most of the works are two-dimensional and a high number of visitors is expected, the central hall was left open to reduce crowding and ensure a comfortable viewing experience.


Curated by: Busan Museum of Art
Photo: Studio Jeongbiso

Exhibition Spatial Design
Construction Supervision






Museum of the Deep

2024/2025


Museum of the Deep is a fictional project set in the year 2040. It imagines an underwater museum built on the Dogger Bank in the North Sea. The museum is made from old cargo ships and industrial waste, left behind after the 2025 North Sea Treaty. It helps restore marine life and also keeps a record of human industry.
This project is inspired by Timothy Morton’s idea of Dark ecology. It does not see nature and humans as separate. Instead, it shows how they are connected, even in broken and difficult ways. In the museum, visitors see how sea life grows on the remains of industry. It shows that nature and history can exist together.
Visitors can dive or walk through underwater tunnels. As they move, they feel the space with their whole body. The museum helps people think about how humans, nature, and technology affect each other. The goal is not just to fix the environment, but to design a space where we can face the past and imagine a better future.


Royal College of Art
Interior Design
Super Futures Platform
Narrative Space Design







Subvision

2024/2025


Subversion is an exploration of transformation and reimagined purpose. Given discarded objects—two parts of cigar presses, a shotgun stock, and a brass topper—we investigated their dark histories tied to colonialism, masculinity, and harmful habits. Rather than erasing the past, we focused on their rhythm, tactility, and the overlooked quality of negative space.
One press was deconstructed, freeing its keys to find new roles. The base now faces itself in a mirror—an invitation to rethink identity. The shotgun stock contrasts brutality and delicacy, mass production and individual touch, through molded clay. The cold brass topper explores presence and absence through physical transformation, capturing negative space and reframing the tension between original and replica. Through spatial reuse, we subvert the past, opening space for new interpretations.
By rethinking the past, we provoke new ways of imagining the future—inviting viewers to interpret, fantasise, and engage with what is absent. In this space of speculation, the missing becomes a site of discovery, and overlooked fragments gain new potential.


Royal College of Art
Interior Design
Reuse Primer






Semiotics of the Waterways

2024/2025

Full HD.
2min 59sec.

This project is based on Timothy Morton’s Dark Ecology, which emphasizes the deep connection between humans and nature and rejects the dualistic idea that they are separate. It positions waste not only as a simple environmental issue but also as a symbol of the relationship between human actions and their impact on the environment.

Inspired by Martha Rosler’s Semiotics of the Kitchen, the project explores how ordinary actions and objects can be used to critique social issues. Rosler demonstrates how everyday tools can reveal hidden power structures. Similarly, this project critiques the act of cleaning a plastic bag as a metaphor for humanity’s efforts to restore nature, while ironically generating further pollution in the process.
Visual expression is a key element of this project. A transparent glass tank is used to display the cleaning process in detail, making both the effort and its limitations visible. The plastic bag, retrieved from a polluted river, connects the project to real environmental problems while also serving as a powerful symbol. Together, these elements encourage reflection on the cyclical nature of pollution and the complex relationship between humans and nature.

In conclusion, the project critically examines anthropocentric approaches to environmental issues and the exploitation of ecosystems. Furthermore, it invites reflection through the lens of ecological colonialism, highlighting how humanity’s attempts to control and restore nature can, in fact, treat nature as a colonized entity.


Royal College of Art
School of Architecture
Media Study 16