Exhibition of 6 Visually Impaired Artists to be Experienced Through Fingertips: 《How Are You? — Asking After the Unseen》

An exhibition where visitors can do more than just look at the works of six visually impaired artists, but also appreciate them by touching them with their hands, is being held near Seoul Station.

The special invitational exhibition 《How Are You? — Asking After the Unseen》 opened on the 3rd at Modu Art Space, 5th floor of the Seoul Square annex in Jung-gu, Seoul. The exhibition continues until the 9th, and admission is free.

This exhibition features artists Park Hwan, YUJUN, Jeong Eun-gyo, Choi Gyeong-eun, Han Yeong-hui, and Heo Eun-bin, presenting 40 works themed around nature and relationships. Among these, 25 pieces have been opened so that visitors can touch them directly. On-site staff guide visitors on how to view the works through touch.

The works utilize a "relief painting" method, where various materials are added to a flat surface to create height and texture. A key feature is the composition that allows one to feel not only the visual forms but also the texture and structure of the materials through their fingertips.

Artist Park Hwan expressed mountains and waterfalls on canvas using soil, thread, denim scraps, and tree bark. The cracks formed as the materials dried were also utilized as the shapes of mountain ridges. Artist Jeong Eun-gyo expressed fish scales using Braille paper, gauze, straws, Hanji (traditional Korean paper), and silicone.

Artist Han Yeong-hui captured natural landscapes such as cosmos flowers, the road leading to Jebudo, and the Namhae sea, while artist YUJUN expressed the afterimages of the sea using luminous paint. Choi Gyeong-eun presents ceramic works starting from the six dots of Braille, and Heo Eun-bin presents works where shapes are made with clay on canvas and then colored.

In this exhibition, nature is also connected to the artists' experiences. Most of the participating artists lost their sight during the course of their lives and continued their creative activities after finding comfort through the people around them and nature. The exhibition title, "How Are You?", carries the meaning of returning the "how are you" greetings they have received from those around them through their works.

On the opening day, an opening program titled "Asking After the Artist" was also held. Following the screening of artist interview videos, the six participating artists spoke directly with visitors, followed by free viewing with artist docents. Sign language interpretation was also provided for the event.

Various accessibility devices have been prepared in the exhibition hall so that works can be viewed regardless of disability. Visitors can move along the exhibition route following three-dimensional guidelines on the floor, and through QR codes on the artwork captions, they can access barrier-free videos containing subtitles, audio descriptions, and artwork descriptions.

The exhibition hall, which is wheelchair accessible, is equipped with disabled toilets, electric wheelchair chargers, and a relaxation room, and Braille leaflets are also available.

Visitor participation programs are also being operated. Visitors can write a "how are you" letter to themselves after reflecting on their own emotions and take it with them, or they can write a message they wish to convey to someone else on a postcard and put it in the exhibition hall mailbox, which the organizers will mail on their behalf. Artist interview videos and art collaboration products can also be found at the exhibition hall.

The exhibition will take place in Modu Art Space Exhibition Hall 1 until the 9th. Viewing hours are from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and it is closed on Sundays. On-site docent programs where participating artists explain their works directly are also operated, and the schedule for each artist can be checked on Ablind's official Instagram.

This exhibition was planned by Ablind, an agency for visually impaired art creators, and is conducted with support from the Korea Arts Management Service's "2026 Early Startup Support Project for the Arts Field."

Read the original (Korean)