Yoo-hee Yang, a South Korean artist who had previously lived and worked in Paris and Marseilles, undertook a ten-month residency at Highgreen. Her practice is sculptural, drawing on a range of materials to explore the intersections of nature, culture, and the built environment. Her work at VARC reflected both the strength and fragility of natural and man-made forms, referencing the permanence and decay of urban concrete alongside the rhythms of rural landscapes.
During her VARC residency, Yoo-hee investigated the relationship between people and place, prompted by her own experience of frequently moving internationally for exhibitions and residencies. She asked local residents, “Who are you?”, using the responses to explore identity and community. For her final exhibition, she produced a series of twenty-one artist books: one for each participant and one for herself. These books collected phrases from the interviews and arranged them under poetic headings, forming a visual poetry of shared and individual identity.
Yoo-hee also worked with physical and sculptural materials. Over the course of the residency, she collected sheep skulls and removed their teeth, presenting the teeth on individual plinths for visitors to examine under small magnifying glasses. Each tooth acted as a sculptural object, representing both form and function while conveying a narrative of collective use.
She engaged with the local landscape through filmmaking, documenting a particular area of the fells from ground level with a small remote-controlled vehicle and camera over a month in winter. Each day’s footage captured subtle variations in light, weather, and route, creating a series of unique records that emphasised the temporal and ever-changing nature of place.
A visit to Unison Colour in Tarset inspired Yoo-hee to work with discarded handmade pastel papers. She presented the stack of used sheets in her exhibition, allowing viewers to appreciate their layered forms while acknowledging the creative process embedded within each sheet.
Community engagement was integral to Yoo-hee’s residency. She held a well-attended Open Studio in November, introducing her work to local residents, and participated in social activities, including the village Scottish Country Dancing classes. In March and April, she led workshops with children at Greenhaugh, West Woodburn, and Otterburn First Schools, as well as with young members of Bellingham and Otterburn Youth Groups, teaching aspects of her artistic practice and fostering hands-on creative engagement.
Through her exploration of materials, landscape, and identity, Yoo-hee Yang’s residency combined personal inquiry with community participation, leaving a lasting record of sculptural, visual, and collaborative practice in the Tarset Valley.
