Moon’s Moon – Minjee Hwang Kim & Risako Yamanoi
Stories shape meaning, connection, and beauty—but they can also mislead, constrain, or even harm.
We are constantly crafting narratives, sometimes with conviction, sometimes with hesitation. Moon’s Moon reflects on this fundamental human impulse to link unrelated events, impose meaning on randomness, and shape our understanding of the world through storytelling. Narrative is central to perception and communication, yet it is never neutral; it is always filtered through memory, bias, and intention.
The exhibition grew from our daily conversations: How is it that we can only speak of what we remember? What of the past we cannot recall? With each discussion, a question emerges: are we recollecting or reinventing our histories? How much of our past do we actually remember, and how much do we reconstruct?
On a larger scale, the exhibition considers the parallels between personal storytelling and collective myth-making. The rise of fake news and conspiracy theories shows how narratives can be manipulated to create alternative realities. Just as we unconsciously edit our own histories, societies selectively shape collective memories to reinforce ideologies. The same mechanisms that allow us to create meaning can also distort it. Storytelling can open worlds or close them down. Moon’s Moon invites reflection on this delicate balance.
Minjee Hwang Kim (b. 1991, South Korea) is a visual artist whose practice centers on painting and drawing. Through self-portraiture, she explores the Buddhist concept of noself (무아, 無我), as well as ideas of probability, eventuality, and autonomy, often in dialogue with women’s art history. Her works have been exhibited in Finland and internationally, and are included in several public collections, including the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma and the Helsinki Art Museum. Kim holds an MFA from the Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Helsinki, and a BFA from the Korea National University of Arts. Her works are supported by the Taiteen Edistämiskeskus in 2025.
Risako Yamanoi (b. 1994, Japan) is a Helsinki-based visual artist working with printmaking, installation, and publications. Her practice examines the nature of our relationship to the past, memories, and storytelling. She holds an MFA in Printmaking from the Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Helsinki. Yamanoi has presented several solo and group exhibitions in Finland and Japan, most recently at Maa-Tila Project Space (2025, Helsinki), Galleria G (2023, Helsinki), and Syndicate Gallery (2022, Takamatsu). Her works are included in public collections such as the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, the Finnish State Art Deposit Collection, and the HUS Collection.