Growing in the Middle
Curated by Anajoara Eom
April 16 - 30, 2026
MA Curatorial Practice presents Growing in the Middle, curated by Anajoara Eom and includes work by Jeong Hur, Hyuk Kwon, Ming-jer Kuo, Laura Lappi, and Gina Siepel. Bound by a shared kinship with trees and wood, Growing in the Middle examines wood not only as a material but also as a mediator that cultivates mutual understanding between humans and nature and between individuals across cultures. Working across photography, documentary film, installation, and painting, the five artists in the exhibition explore the multifaceted aspects of trees as living organisms, as cultural carriers embedded in the materiality of wood, and as forms that reflect social conditions. The exhibition considers how these diverse forms of engagement open up possibilities for non-binary thinking, cultural exchange, and rethinking what togetherness means.
Through a photographic series of Taiwan’s urban landscapes, Ming-Jer Kuo captures scenes of trees and inhabited buildings coexisting, highlighting the interdependent relationships between humans and trees. Approaching trees as autonomous beings, woodworker Gina Siepel takes her long-term engagement with trees through a series of video works of an old oak tree in the forest and a collection of site artifacts that trace the life cycle of a tree. Treating wood as a tangible connection to her homeland, Finland, Laura Lappi’s charred, geometric-shaped sculptures made from recycled wood strips resonate with both Finnish and Japanese worldviews on wood. Through a series of wooden structures resembling windows, Jeong Hur explores the materiality of Korean paper, hanji, made from mulberry bark. As an immigrant to the United States, Hur addresses how hanji’s opacity reflects Korean identity while also offering a way to think through Western cultural associations with transparency.
Hyuk Kwon explores how the transformation of trees into functional commodities mirrors the way perception is constrained by social systems, subverting the functions of wooden folding screens and turning toilet paper into a life-sized tree installation.
As the title Growing in the Middle imagines a tree growing in multiple directions—upward, downward, and outward—with the endless growth of branches and roots, the exhibition hopes to create a moment in which these invisible interconnections may eventually lead to an encounter, fostering feelings of togetherness and generosity in a society where social bonds are often fragile and short-lived.
