Behind You, I Exist Yoo Jung Ellie Choi

Peres Projects is pleased to present Behind You, I Exist, Yoo Jung Ellie Choi’s (b. 1994, Busan, South Korea) debut exhibition with the gallery and her first in Berlin. This series of oil paintings on canvas explores the interplay between interiority and exteriority, using domestic spaces and architectural elements as metaphors for the human psyche and lived experience. The exhibition’s title, Behind You, I Exist, evokes the tension between visibility and erasure, selfhood and otherness. Through layered compositions, Choi dissolves the boundaries between the visible and the concealed, the mundane and the surreal, constructing liminal environments where her characters dwell—spaces that mirror both their physical surroundings and the intricate contours of their emotional landscapes.

Choi’s works reflect on contemporary domesticity, where communal living fosters a paradoxical experience: individuals sharing physical spaces yet remaining emotionally isolated, absorbed by digital devices or consumed by their inner worlds—alone together. Her compositions evoke a surreal, often disquieting atmosphere, blending interior and exterior realms to reveal the disconnection between physical presence and virtual immersion. The coexistence of sharp architectural lines and dreamlike voids imbues her compositions with an uncanny quality, where reality feels both tangible and elusive. Alternative realms emerge in her works through portals, windows, and open passageways, suggesting a world just beyond reach—an extension of digital screens, perhaps, where overlapping realities seep into daily life. These structural openings serve as both tangible elements and symbolic motifs, framing, guiding, and enveloping her characters while exposing the porous boundaries of their worlds.

Beyond physical spaces, this exhibition explores identity through the environments individuals create and their relationships with others. Choi begins each painting with her characters, constructing the surrounding space in response to them, placing their presence at the heart of her reflections. Behind You, I Exist examines how her characters navigate their living spaces, portraying them as fleeting, incomplete beings—partially obscured, turned away, caught mid-movement, or seemingly dissolving into their surroundings. This approach underlines the transience of human experience within seemingly permanent spaces, contemplating the impermanence of life and the fluidity of self. Through these elements, the works evoke the tension between intimacy and isolation, as individuals negotiate their sense of place—within themselves, among others, in the spaces they inhabit, and in the realms they long to occupy.

Glass bricks, a recurring motif in this series, define and blur boundaries, exploring relationships between figures as well as the physical and emotional distances they embody. In Overlaying My Face on Your Back, a seated man appears indoors while another strolls on grass outside—yet closer inspection reveals the exterior as an illusion, refracted through a grid-patterned glass partition in the background. These structural elements, with their tangible forms and metaphysical symbolism, evoke both curiosity and unease in navigating unknown spaces, whether real, virtual, or imagined. Titles such as Windows to Nowhere and Me and I function as cryptic signposts, deepening the works’ ambiguity and mirroring the subtle dynamics within Choi’s visual language. Her muted palette, occasionally punctuated by warm, bright bursts, reflects the duality at the heart of her themes—solitude and connection, presence and absence, here and elsewhere.

Through a delicate synthesis of figuration and abstraction, Choi constructs sensory and psychological landscapes that beckon viewers to immerse themselves in their depths. Her tactile, layered surfaces shift between opacity and transparency, forging a visual language that is both introspective and universal. These works resonate as intimate confessions and meditations on human connection, probing the fragile interplay between existence, perception, and place. In Behind You, I Exist, Choi initiates a poignant dialogue between what is revealed and what remains concealed, inviting us to confront the thresholds of our own perceptions. This is Yoo Jung Ellie Choi’s debut exhibition with the gallery and her first in Berlin. Her solo and dual exhibitions include DrawingRoom, Seoul (2024); Seongbuk Young Art Space, Seoul (2023); 175 Gallery, Seoul (2021); and Gallery IS, Seoul (2016). Her work has been featured in group exhibitions at Seongbuk Young Art Space, Seoul (2023); Hapjungjigu, Seoul (2022); BGA Maru, Seoul (2021); Art Delight Gallery, Seoul (2019); Dongsomun, Seoul (2019); and Woods-Gerry House, Providence (2018), among others.