THOUSAND FACES SERIES

SCULPTURE WORKS WITH STAINLESS STEEL WIRE MESH AND CEMENT  |   2019-present

Inspired by the well-known Korean folktale “The Thousand Faces,” artist Choi Ok Yeung created a series of striking human sculptures in cement. These unconventional figures, ranging in height from 60 to 150 centimeters, embody the symbolic concept of possessing a thousand expressions—each piece reflecting a rich spectrum of human emotion through theatrical and exaggerated facial forms.

To Choi, the face represents the most distilled form of the human microcosm. Using cement as his primary medium, he sculpted mutable, expressive faces that mirror the endless variations of identity—seeking to capture not just many, but a thousand expressions within a single visage. The works were constructed with aluminum mesh, iron, and cement, allowing for spontaneity in form. As the cement is pushed and molded from the inside through the mesh, it creates raw, moon-like surfaces—textured, dynamic, and full of unexpected emotion.

The process itself—of breaking, attaching, rejecting, and combining—echoes the cycles of creation and evolution found in nature and the cosmos. For Choi, this method becomes a metaphor for the explosive vitality of life, expressing the momentary surges of energy that animate living beings.

Through these expressive forms, Choi invites viewers to confront the depth and complexity of human life. The rough surfaces and layered emotions encapsulated in each sculpture speak to the diversity of human experience, offering a space for empathy, reflection, and a deeper understanding of the emotional worlds that live within our faces.