YOO, HYOUNSANG

Hyounsang Yoo

3D Fitted Cap 2015, 2014
Inkjet Print, 30 x 40 inches
Signed Edition of 30

The hat is 3D Fitted Cap 2015 is a replica of one worn by Marty McFly in the 1989 movie Back to the Future Part II. In the film, McFly time travels to October 21, 2015, where he outfits himself in futuristic clothing. Yoo made his image in 2014, less than a year before the date that costume designer Joanna Johnston was envisioning when she originally created the iridescent baseball cap, as well as the hover board, self-lacing shoes and other iconic items that appear in the film. Yoo’s photograph considers the role of visual media in imagining futures that are slick, yet far-fetched. Across all of his works, he looks critically at ways objects or events are idealized through representation and finds discontinuity between visual media and reality.

Yoo resides in Chicago. He holds a BFA (2009) and MFA (2014) in Photography from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at the Centro Colombo Americano, Bucaramanga, Columbia (2015); Drents Museum, Assen, Netherlands (2015); Galerie F/5.6, Munich, Germany (2014); Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago (2014); Gallery Won, Seoul, Korea (2013); Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2012); and Hongik Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea (2011). Yoo was the MoCP Snider Prize recipient in 2014, a purchase award for his work to be added to the MoCP’s permanent collection.