“Exhibition design” is understanding and interpreting the
concept of an exhibition and its artworks; considering
flow of viewers; and finally, designing and fabricating the
objects, free-standing walls, and other structures that each
individual work requires. One could say that this work is
helping curators and artists, but in a way, it is closer to the
work of technician.

While performing exhibition design/construction here and
there in galleries and art museums, I came to realize that
this “work,” which allows me to survive, derives from the
peculiar labor establishment of Korean art institutions. Most
art institutions in Korea hardly ever acknowledge hiring
“technician-exhibition engineers.” I would say that they
are rather stingy when it comes to “direct employment.”
Overseas art museums of a scale comparable to Korean art
institutions retain exhibition engineers or day laborers who
have worked together with the museum for a long time
(mostly local artists) in numbers that are commensurate
to, or even exceed, the number of curators. In comparison,
Korean art museums employ no more than one technician.
Meanwhile, the curators, worn thin by heavy workloads,
are unable to perform simple tasks such as hanging picture
frames, hammering nails, or patching holes in walls; as
a result, they hire outside services to take care of these
difficult problems. Thanks to these circumstances, I came
to sustain my livelihood by designing and producing freestanding
walls, pedestals, and furniture for other artists’
works, and by performing exhibition installation on behalf
of other artists. Although it is an interesting and rewarding
job, I am seized with the equivocal feelings that emerge
from my position in between two seemingly conflicting
jobs—a maker of art and a supporting laborer for other
artists’ exhibitions.