About

Yoyojin (Hojin Im) began laying the groundwork for his artistic practice through nearly a decade of community-based cultural work in Zambia, following his dispatch by the Korean National Commission for UNESCO in 2010. Immersed in village life, he led collaborative filmmaking projects with local youth, employing participatory methods to help them share their own stories. As a member of the Zambian artist collective ART4ART, he also contributed to the development of animated works designed to deliver accurate information and raise social awareness around HIV/AIDS.

In 2018, he participated in the residency program at Modzi Arts, a Zambian art center, and in March 2019, he held his first solo exhibition in Zambia before returning to Korea, where he has continued to develop his practice.

The characters in Yoyojin’s work function as performers moving through imagined environments—symbolic intermediaries that activate meaning between the viewer and the artwork. This approach reflects his deep belief in the communicative potential of art, shaped by his accumulated experiences, visual observations, and collaborative interactions within African communities.

His work explores the relationship between image and peace, and investigates what it means to exist as an individual within politically and socially complex structures. Moving fluidly across media—illustration, painting, animation, AI, sound, and live painting performances—Yoyojin brings a flexible, witty perspective to the layered themes of contemporary life.

He is currently pursuing an MFA in Arts and Humanities at the Royal College of Art in the UK, where his practice continues to center on the social impact of artistic expression.