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@seohyel

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🦻🏻🦻🏼🦻🏽🦻🏾🦻🏿 UK based deaf artist working with sound, illustration, moving image and accessibility👂🏻👂🏼👂🏽👂🏾👂🏿

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Excited to share a personal essay for @autographabp inspired by the incredible exhibition Of Walking on Fire by @nhuxuanhua . It has been both a healing and therapeutic process to think back on these memories with my mom. Thank you to Livvy Murdoch @livvy_murdoch for being an amazing editor✨ I hope you enjoy reading this one! Link is in bio📝
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There is a reading event on Wednesday September 16th in the gallery from 6:30 to 8pm, it would be lovely to see you there! I will be reading the piece alongside Hanan Issa @hanan.issa.official and Gayathiri Kamalakanthan @unembarrassable that evening.
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ID: Image used is taken from Nhu Xuan Hua’s work Ma - Archive from the year ‘88, 2017-2022 and the text below is written: Speaking Through the Void, by Seo Hye Lee A personal essay exploring communication and connection beyond words. The work image is of a person standing wearing dark grey sweater and red trousers. The camera is flashed against the subject with dark shadows cast behind, with face and neck invisible, rendering the person unknown. Bottom half of subject is obscured by the table with plate, cup and cutleries. by @seohyel

Memories of „Deafening Silence“ by Seo Hye Lee

The collaborative video work, featuring artistic captions in written language and sign language, arose in exchange with d/Deaf communities in Düsseldorf and other cities. Commissioned for „Circulating Copies,“ the work was first presented in spring 2026 at Storage Museum Düsseldorf and subsequently circulated across more than sixty advertizing screens throughout the city.

With thanks to Alina Lupookova, Jané Mackenzie, Kamila Miroslawski, Magnus Miroslawski, Roman Poryadin, Tiffany Poryadin, Luis Pufhan, and Damien Robinson.

Video description:
0:00 – 0:15 A large advertising screen in central Düsseldorf shows the words "OHRENBETÄUBENDE STILLE" („Deafening Silence“) over a rainy city scene.

0:15 - 1:45 Seo Hye Lee communicates in spoken English during an artist talk, heard as voiceover, The video alternates between footage of the artist and her works displayed on large city advertising screens, with close-up details gradually zooming out to wider installation views from the exhibition at the Storage Museum..

1:45 – 2:21 Roman Poryadin signs in German Sign Language (DGS): „I enjoy artistic subtitles, especially when they convey emotion or the mood. As a Deaf person, I sometimes can’t catch the subtitles correctly because of the images. But we shouldn’t forget that written language is mostly not the native language, our native language is DGS (German Sign Language). Deaf people use sign language and thus they sometimes struggle with written language as well. We actually call written lnaguage a foreign language for Deaf people – much like English, for example.“

2:21 – 2:29 A split screen shows a dripping tap on the left and a poetic sign language interpretation on the right.

2:30 – 31:31 The camera pans through the exhibition space, where visitors commnicate in sign and spoken languages. Lee's voice returns while the video alternates between the artist talk and scenes from the exhibition and public screens.

Videocredits:
© Seo Hye Lee and IMAI - Inter Media Art Institute, video: Kurt Heuvens by @seohyel

Thanks to @intermediaartinstitute I had the most lovely time in Düsseldorf this week! We got to launch circulating copies 2026 in the beautiful @storage.museum this Friday alongside other cool artists. I’m sad I wasn’t able to stay longer to experience the other artists’ work in person + my own work being exhibited in a public space, but I know it won’t be my last visit in Düsseldorf 🇩🇪
This video work has been the culmination of an open call I held for d/Deaf participants and thank you to @maineroin for the trust and support to make this happen!!! Team at IMAI @linneasemmerling , Darije, @judith.greitemann and @surmus.v3 have been wonderful to work with from beginning and I cannot wait to see where/who this work will reach in future :-)
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ID in alt text by @seohyel

This foil print came from reading about spoon theory and listening to @shapearts’ podcast with artist @jamilaprowse, where she talks about her 2023 film Spoons (After Carolyn Lazard). Spoon theory was created by Christine Miserandino in 2003 to explain the gap in energy between disabled and non-disabled people: each task costs spoons, and some of us start the day with far fewer.
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What stayed with me was the playfulness in how Jamila and her friends (Carolyn Lazard, Leah Clements and Bella Milroy) talk about spoons in the film’s voice notes, like wishing for a ladle instead. It made me think that our spoons aren’t only different in number. They’re different in size and shape. Some are big but slotted, so energy drains straight through. Some are tiny but solid. Some are wired and can’t hold much at all. And the same person’s spoons can change from one day to the next.
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spoons, 2026
Silver foil transfer on blue cardstock
13.7 x 10.3 cm
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ID in alt text by @seohyel

Portland Forecast will be showing in Voices Embodies: Prognostication at Design Museum of Chicago from June 26th til January 18th 2027 curated by Alex Stark @alexstarkpaints ! It will showcase 38 artists including myself exploring disability-forward futures and intersection of disability & identity. I won’t be in opening event in Chicago but looking forward to seeing Portland Forecast reaching audiences in US! 🌊🇺🇸🌊
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ID: Image of exhibition promotion which shows verovcha’s “Cosmic Altar V”, 2024, lithic textile interaction documented through photography of natural rock and digital drawing of white lines surrounding the rock. Also on the image is a list of names of 38 artists on the left hand side with QR codes for PLAN YOUR VISIT and ABOUT information on upper right side. Information of opening reception and exhibition is at the bottom side and the main title on the top with bold white letters against lilac purple colour. by @seohyel

Deafening Silence / Ohrenbetäubende Stille came together as the result of an open call, gathering videos and captions from d/Deaf participants over the course of a few weeks. The process was shaped by care and intention — retaining the originality of each contribution as much as possible.
One thing that was important during the process was the decision to not translate different languages into English. Written language isn’t the only language that exists — and so balancing the hierarchy between languages was important to the piece. The work moves between German, English, and German Sign Language, three distinct languages each with their own logic, resisting collapse into a single voice.
Displayed on public screens across Düsseldorf, the collected moving images circulate d/Deaf-authored perspectives, inviting the city’s audiovisual infrastructures to become platforms for collective sensory imagination.
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ID in alt text
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© Seo Hye Lee and Stiftung IMAI – Inter Media Art Institute, photo: Kai Werner Schmidt, 2026 by @seohyel

I had a pleasure of taking part in a conversation with the amazing Liza Sylvestre @liza_sylvestre and + Christopher Jones @christopher_robert_jones alongside @rotemtamirstudio and @_hannah_wallis for Issue 16 VOCA: Journal of Contemporary Voice. It’s unreal to be part of this issue with people I appreciate + admire! I have included the link in my bio for you to read — please take a look and support this incredible journal @voca_network ⭐️
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ID: A screen capture of VOCA journal image of article which has a still from Portland Forecast with yellow fonted caption that says “[♪ocean speaks softly♪]” with full backdrop of soft blueish grey ocean behind” The enhanced sized article’s main title says DEAF* ROUNDTABLE with our names below: Seo Hye Lee, Rotem Tamir, and Hannah Wallis. by @seohyel

[English in comments]

Herzliche Einladung zur Eröffnung von „Circulating Copies“ am Donnerstag, den 16. April 2026 um 19:30 Uhr im Storage Museum Düsseldorf mit der Premiere von Seo Hye Lees Auftragsarbeit „Ohrenbetäubende Stille“ und einem Künstlerinnengespräch mit Seo Hye Lee, Roman Poryadin und Linnea Semmerling. Das Gespräch findet in englischer Lautsprache und Deutscher Gebärdensprache (DGS) statt.

„Ohrenbetäubende Stille“ ist eine kollaborative Videoarbeit der Künstlerin Seo Hye Lee, die im Austausch mit t/Tauben Communities in Düsseldorf und weiteren Städten entstanden ist. Die Arbeit untersucht, wie Klang im urbanen Raum interpretiert, imaginiert und über visuelle Hinweise erschlossen werden kann. Ab Montag, den 20. April 2026 erscheinen künstlerisch untertitelte Videos auf verschiedenen Bildschirmen im öffentlichen Raum.

Mit Dank an @maineroin, Siegfried Saerberg, Joschua Pesch-Ulonska, @linneasemmerling, @judith.greitemann, @glduesseldorf und das @storage.museum

Bildbeschreibung: Auf einer Baustelle ist der Gehweg großflächig aufgebrochen. Zwischen Schutthaufen arbeiten mehrere Personen in Warnkleidung. Links bewegt ein großer Baggerarm schwere Betonstücke, weiter hinten bedient jemand einen kleinen Minibagger mit Presslufthammer. Rechts steht eine Person nahe einer Hauswand und stützt sich auf eine Schaufel. Fahrzeuge und Absperrgitter rahmen die Szene in einer belebten Straßenumgebung. Am unteren Bildrand steht eine Bildunterschrift mit der Aufschrift „…ja/nein?…“ in weißer Schrift auf schwarzem Hintergrund.

Bildcredit: Seo Hye Lee, „Ohrenbetäubende Stille“, 2026. Videostill©️Seo Hye Lee, video: Damien Robinson. by @seohyel

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Paid opportunity - Invitation for d/Deaf participants to submit a up to 15-second silent video + caption (either signed or written) for Deafening Silence/Ohrenbetäubende Stille, shown publicly during Circulating Copies in Düsseldorf with @intermediaartinstitute.

No art background required.
Shot on phone is absolutely fine.
Deadline 28 Feb.

Check my Insta for more details – British Sign Language & German Sign Language version also available!

📧 Email submissions to: deafeningsilence.opencall@gmail.com by @seohyel

[English in comments]

Die Künstlerin Seo Hye Lee lädt t/Taube-Teilnehmende ein, sich an „Ohrenbetäubende Stille“ zu beteiligen – einem neuen Videoprojekt, das von der Stiftung IMAI – Inter Media Art Institute für „Circulating Copies“ in Auftrag gegeben wurde, und 2026 im öffentlichen Raum in Düsseldorf präsentiert wird.

Das Projekt untersucht, wie Klang im Stadtraum über visuelle Hinweise antizipiert, imaginiert oder abgeleitet wird. Ausgangspunkt ist die Redewendung „ohrenbetäubende Stille“ – ein Ausdruck für die überwältigende Abwesenheit von Klang – und die Frage, wie diese Vorstellung aus t/Tauben-Perspektiven, durch kreatives Captioning und kollektive Autor*innenschaft neu gedacht werden kann.

Gesucht werden kurze Videofragmente ohne Ton (bis zu 30 Sekunden) aus dem urbanen Raum, kombiniert mit kreativen Untertiteln / Captions, die Klang beschreiben, imaginieren oder antizipieren. Das können alltägliche Situationen sein, zum Beispiel:

• ein blinkendes Ampelsignal
• sich plötzlich öffnende und schließende Zugtüren
• wartende, auseinandergehende oder vorbeiziehende Menschen
• ein Moment des Innehaltens, in dem Klang erwartet wird, aber ausbleibt

Die Captions müssen nicht wörtlich oder rein beschreibend sein. Sie können poetisch, offen, humorvoll oder unsicher sein – eine Möglichkeit, zu übersetzen, wie sich Klang anfühlen könnte, statt wie er objektiv ist.

Mehr Informationen findet ihr über den Link in unserer Bio.

Bildbeschreibung: Eine urbane Straße in der Dämmerung. Links und rechts umgeben von hohen Gebäuden. Mehrere rote Ampeln und leuchtende Straßenlaternen ziehen sich entlang der Straße, dazu die Scheinwerfer vorbeifahrender Autos. Unten leuchtet der Himmel in Orange, während er nach oben hin ins Blau übergeht. Am unteren Bildrand erscheint in gelber Schrift die Texteinblendung [sound of day turning to night].

Bild © Seo Hye Lee, 2026

@seohyel
@linneasemmerling
@ds_ubermorgen
@judy_gree
#circulatingcopies by @seohyel

[sound of subtitles] (2021) by Seo Hye Lee

The middle cage features the video work [sound of subtitles] by Seo Hye Lee. This silent work explores how subtitles shape our perception of sound and emotion. By changing the language of subtitles in archive material, it reveals how systems that are intended to promote accessibility can also shape and alter meaning. The subtitles do not function as neutral translations, but rather guide viewers through imagined or alternative soundscapes. This allows us to experience how meaning is created not only by what we hear, but also by the way it is described. The absence of sound becomes a space in which language guides listening – even when nothing is spoken. [sound of subtitles] exists in a silent version as well as in a version with audio description in German and English, opening up multiple sensory readings of sound, language, and emotional resonance.

Commissioned by the University of Salford Art Collection and Vital Capacities.
Film footage courtesy of the North West Film Archive at the Manchester Metropolitan University.
Film footage courtesy of Bexley Local Studies & Archive Centre and London’s Screen Archives.

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»Politics of Being Heard«
22/8/2025 – 2/11/2025

with Katrin Bittl, Seo Hye Lee, Anika Krbetschek & Zorka Lednárová

Curated by Janine Pauleck

The exhibition is the third part of the annual programme HANDLE (with) CARE.

Exhibition management and production:
Katrin Winkler @katrinwinkler
Josephin Hanke @josephin_hanke

Graphic design: Nora Keilig @norakeilig

@janine_pauleck @kulturmitte @kommunale_galerien_berlin

#handlewithcare #baerenzwingerberlin #kulturmitte #kunstinmitte #berlin #berlinmitte #exhibitioninberlin #artberlin #berlinart #berlinartists #inclusionmatters #accessibilitymatters #nothingaboutuswithoutus #disabilityjustice #accessislove #cripculture #carework #careculture #ableism #contemporaryart #groupexhibition #multisensoryart #accessibilityinthearts #inclusivearts #disabledartists by @seohyel

[sound of autumnal change]
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ID in alt text by @seohyel