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C. Ryu 🌱👹🐉🌀

@c.ryu_portal

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👹Looking🌙for🌀rebirth🩸and✨revolution🩻
🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌

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“When I saw C. Ryu’s Alice and Alice: in Freefall, I was taken to a place of uncertainty and fear. Lines between fact and fiction blurred and I was left feeling a sense of danger and mistrust towards the characters in Ryu’s video work.

Drawing from the life of Alice Hyun, the first recorded Korean American, Ryu activates Hyun’s contentious legacy as a double agent. Thought to have been a spy for both the United States and North Korea, the archival documentation which exists about Hyun’s life provides evidence for and against this theory.

Using snippets from the legal testimony of Alice Hyun’s brothers, Peter and David, along with metaphors and characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, Ryu takes the viewer through an emotional journey. As the audience, we question the character’s version of events and we leave questioning our own.

It was a pleasure to speak with Ryu about her work. We delve into the complicated ethics surrounding historical narratives, being a “bad” archivist, and the futile quest for a neat, unwavering historical account.”
— Lena Hansen

https://bunkerprojects.org/finding-alice-a-conversation-with-c-ryu/
#CRyu #Bunker-Review #ContemporaryArt #VideoArt #AliceHyun #DoubleAgent by @c.ryu_portal

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2 years ago

🧿My first solo show opens in less than a week. Be on the lookout for programming. As always my work and I are ANTI-WAR & ANTI-EMPIRE

✨On 2/2 for Unblurred First Friday, Rosa Ryoo will be collaborating with me to offer cocktails inspired by Alice Hyun - Cocktails will be available until materials last.

🩻On 2/8 & 2/15, 7-8PM, I will be debuting a new performance called “We’re all Mad Here.” This is a ticketed event. If you are struggling to pay, DM me and we will work something out. Tix in bio.

✨Inspired by the life of supposed double agent Alice Hyun (1903- 1956??), A l i c e & A l i c e pays tribute to the first Korean American born in Hawaii and the first Korean American to gain US citizenship through birth. This new body of work is the first solo exhibition of artist and performer C. Ryu, who continues her research practice of amplifying stories of forgotten women, the women who rebelled, the women who were too loud for history.

🧿Born while Korea was under Japanese colonization, Hyun believed in an independent one-nation Korea. The radical pioneer devoted her life to independence, enrolled in the USA military working partially as a translator during World War II, and was stationed in Tokyo and Seoul until 1945-1946. However, in a turn of events, Alice was named as a communist and as a double agent for North Korea. Despite her incredibly complicated and high stakes life, the independence fighter’s legacy is absent from Korean American and feminist histories in both mainland South Korea and the United States.

🦋The exhibition’s centerpiece, a 3-channel video made completely through thermal technology, weaves text from Alice Hyun’s archives and Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to pose questions about the role of nationalism in the diaspora. Alice Hyun was labeled a communist, a devil, a spy, both an enemy and ally. A l i c e & A l i c e positions Alice as a metaphor for bodies that simultaneously house multiple cultures and truths while asking what is the past, present, and future of diaspora politics tethered to motherland and birthland nationalism

✨Special thanks to the genius @rodgepodgemusic for the sound composition by @c.ryu_portal

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3 years ago

🌌Fittingly for Mother’s Day, here is my trailer for ✨ 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕 | 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 ✨ aka my baby.

✨ This is part of the last chapter
𝑰𝑰𝑰: 가위 눌림 | 𝑺𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒔 | 𝑺𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔

🌌 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕 | 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 is a saga that vocalizes violences of patriarchy towards a matriarchal existence. These stories transmute time and location.

✨ In chapter I, MAGO, her story, and her “erasure” is introduced. MAGO is the GRAND MOTHER 대모, the creator of the universe, a Korean goddess that not only created land and humanity but did it all self progenating.

🌌She was feared by the empires that only wanted a woman to be at home, as a wife, mother, daughter or a nameless grave. And thus MAGO was forced to go into hiding. (My great grandmothers graves in Korea only had their husbands’ names marked until the late 1990s. In South Korea women’s names did not have to be acknowledged on graves if you had a husband. Even in death, the patriarchy persists.)

✨This type of erasure is silently consistent but is also upheld by those who want access to a certain power. There are many of us on the spectrum of womxn that are also agents of the empire who endorse this ideology. I follow the complexity of the different faces of patriarchy through the “disappearance” of MAGO and how patriarchy has effected multiple generations of women in my family by confirming and resisting these ideologies.

🌌𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕 | 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 asks if the ghosts that haunt us are man-made, isn’t it up to also us as humans to spot these fabricated horrors and unravel them?

✨PS: I had to change some of the visuals so that I would not be banned on Instagram and also please ignore the ratio of the video Instagram wouldn’t let me post the actual ratio 🫠 by @c.ryu_portal

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3 years ago

✨October 3!
✨12-3PM
✨ICA LA

come out to ica la for open studios:)

🌠I’ll be hosting 5 min oracle readings for a sliding scale price throughout the afternoon! Just come find me!

✨check out the Hwa Studio and the other artists in residence! Our studios are cute :) by @c.ryu_portal

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14 days ago

🌖✨ Today ✨grounding bodies, casting dreams✨ a collaboration between @saewwwon and I with the Youth fellows in the Agency of Assets program opens today at @theicala

🪨 Exhibition from Sept 26-Nov 1, 2026

✨I absolutely love working with students and so it was an honor to work with all the fellows and being able to create containers for their dreams. Today if you have time, please come out to congratulate the students and celebrate the completion of their program :)

🪨 as institutions and schools become increasingly a place where students are targeted rather than protected, I’ve been meditating on what it takes to protect a dream.

✨ even as an adult dreams are precious and so so fragile. It often takes a village to protect even one wish or allow a dream to soar. With the 돌탑 I’m thinking about protection of dreams of how a dream practice is really a community practice. And for all of us to remember how much strength it takes and how many people it takes for a dream to take off.

🌱and to all the people that have supported us thank you thank u thank you but an especially huge thank you to @albertokeossian & @chloehiuseetsang who have offered us so much generosity and expertise throughout this entire process 🌠

✨ I hope no matter where you are in life, whatever age you are, you haven’t forgotten to dream 🪞 by @c.ryu_portal

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20 days ago

🔮𝙐𝙉𝘿𝙀𝙍𝙒𝙊𝙍𝙇𝘿
🌱2027 January
🌱3 day Retreat

🌙 𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌? 𝑫𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍’𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕? 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒋𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍.

✨In the UNDERWORLD retreat, you are invited to become travelers working with the elements to find your inner compass. This is a retreat for you to play in the UNDERWORLD to forge, strengthen, and to discover your light.

✨Not your average spiritual weekend retreat, debuting in 2027 January, Mudang Jenn & C. Ryu are hosting a paid, exclusive 3 day retreat in Los Angeles, CA.

✨We will be accepting applications this Fall, sign up on our link in our bios or on this post to receive updates and to learn more.

🌙 https://forms.gle/wovgQn5zo5mY3HS8A by @c.ryu_portal

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2 months ago

In South Korea, there is an old tradition of building wishing rock towers called 돌탑, or DOL-TOP, to protect the community. A geomancy ritual and land divination spell, these stone towers are also a form of protecting the village spiritually.

ICA LA artists in residence Saewon Oh & C. Ryu of Hwa Records are collaborating with our 2026 Agency of Assets Youth Fellows and the lands of Tongva / Los Angeles on a new installation at ICA LA. Together they will build a 돌탑 DOL-TOP and invite visitors to bring a rock from their home or local landscape to be included in this collective land spell for this year’s Youth Fellows and the larger ICA LA community.

To participate, drop off your rock at the front desk before Sunday, September 18. by @c.ryu_portal

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2 months ago

✨✨✨
This May,
the winds have blown
and I’m finally launching
🌬️✨ 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚 ✨🌬️

🌬️ 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚 is an oracle ✨✨✨
🌬️ 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚 is a card reading ✨✨
🌬️ 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚 is an offering✨

🌱🌱🌱 𝒎𝒂𝒚 2026 🌱🌱🌱 by @c.ryu_portal

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6 months ago

Hwa Records started as a series of intimate workshops for the Korean diaspora to share, process and make meaningful new connections. We are excited to share our Korean history workshop in its 3rd iteration!

Korean History & Family Stories Workshop
🗓️ March 7
⏰ 2-4pm
📍Hwa Studio in Arts District
RSVP + application required

A lecture and group discussion about the political and societal forces that are the sources of trauma in many Korean families.

In this workshop, participants will get a brief review of Korean history, with a special focus on the political and societal forces that are the sources of trauma in many Korean families, as well as the shame that makes it difficult to share and process these traumas.

Participants will be encouraged, but not required, to share their family stories. The workshop will begin with a short presentation before opening up for dialogue.

Hosted by Hwa Records and faciliated by @rodgepodgemusic

This workshop is FREE for members of the Korean diaspora many thanks to the @theicala AIR program 🎉

The mission of Hwa Records is to create community spaces for diasporic Koreans to alleviate these stresses. Our team, composed of artists, musicians, and healers @kayla.tange @c.ryu_portal @saewwwon @rodgepodgemusic fulfills this mission through performance art and facilitating workshops that facilitate connection, group processing and diaologue in hopes of transforming our diasporic challenges into collective joy and catharsis. by @c.ryu_portal

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8 months ago

To kick off the Fire Horse year, we are excited to offer another series of free workshops to the public! 🐎❤️‍🔥

Where Hwa Lives: Ancestral Memory and the Korean Diasporic body
🗓️March 6
⏰1-3:30pm
📍Hwa Studio in Arts District
RSVP + application required

A somatic exploration of ancestral memory in the individual and collective body with group discussion, sound, movement, and herbal tea.

This workshop gives members of the Korean diaspora the opportunity to dialogue with, express and explore the ancestral memory that resides in their individual and collective bodies.

We still start with group discussion about common challenges that members of the Korean diaspora face due to histories of war trauma, militarization, immigrant displacement, culture clashing, etc.

Then we’ll move into a series of deep listening and somatic explorations into what within us wants witnessing, releasing, and remembering. What we discover will culminate into a group ritual using voice, sound and movement with the support of live Korean drumming and a chrysanthemum tea serving.

Hosted by Hwa Records and faciliated by @saewwwon @_sunsong_

This workshop is FREE for members of the Korean diaspora many thanks to the @theicala AIR program 🎉

The mission of Hwa Records is to create community spaces for diasporic Koreans to alleviate these stresses. Our team, composed of artists, musicians, and healers @c.ryu_portal @kayla.tange @rodgepodgemusic @saewwwon fulfills this mission through performance art and facilitating workshops that facilitate connection, group processing and diaologue in hopes of transforming our diasporic challenges into collective joy and catharsis.

We look forward to meeting you! ❤️‍🔥 by @c.ryu_portal

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8 months ago

🌀前生 = 전생 = Past Life = Pancake Life Version 3.0 (2026)

🌱Ancestral Dreamscapes: Asian American Film & Moving Image curated by Lena Chen @lenachen

🌱Feb 7, 2026
🌱Barnsdall Gallery Theatre
🌱Doors open at 1PM
🌱Performances start at 2PM

✨The translation in the title are translations that are correct and incorrect. I am creating riddles with the different ways of translating Korean using sonic mispronunciation.

✨전 (JEON) past or korean pancake
✨생 (SAENG) life

✨This Saturday I will be performing my performance “前生 = 전생 = Past Life = Pancake Life” Version 3.0 (2026).

✨This version will contain a noise duet between left behind tapes of my grandmother’s 창 (chang). 혜정 임도순 performed her noises/singing in the 1980s and 1990s in Daegu, South Korea which will be played in tandem with my own vocal storytelling.

🌬️A sonic rumination on past lives through the lens of C. Ryu’s maternal linage of her grandmother’s unfinished dreams of being on stage as well as dreams of Ryu’s own past lives, this non-linear performance uses storytelling as a methodology to unravel misplaced diasporic longing.

✨Roots in the sky
✨when a tree swims
✨fire blossoms

🔥happy early lunar new year and grateful to be surrounded by many friends. may the fire horse bring us much protection. taken in Barnsdall Gallery Theater by @c.ryu_portal

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8 months ago

We complete our interview series, “What does it mean to be AAPI in 2025?”, as a response to the wisdom, healing, and remembrance inherited through our fellowship @prebysfound

Chaos and messiness is an invitation for vulnerability to stand alive. Perfection is no longer a requirement for success. We stay learning, repeating, adapting.

Full interviews are now on our new fellowship website!
words by @c.ryu_portal
video by @neighborhoodterry taken in San Diego, California by @c.ryu_portal

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a year ago