South African artist Suné Horn explores narratives with house artwork

South African artist Suné Horn / Courtesy of Suné Horn

South African artist Suné Horn found inspiration when she began to see the archetypal shape of a house as a metaphor.

“I was walking with people who at the time were having an argument, and I just pictured these clashing houses," said Horn, a resident of Daejeon. "I had this picture of this little invisible house around a person, this reality that we create, this comfortable space that we create, that we go through in life.”

The most common visual vocabulary in her work is minimalist geometric white houses, ranging in size from a few centimeters tall to large enough for the viewer to enter.

With a master's degree in architecture from the University of Cape Town, it is no wonder that living spaces feature prominently in Horn’s artwork.

A view of Suné Horn's artwork on display for the "Liminal Phase" exhibition at Gongganare Gallery in Seoul / Courtesy of Suné Horn

Her house images represent a kind of sheltered space for one’s worldview or myopic thinking. This idea is reflected in much of her work and her artistic interest in narratives. In a statement on her artist website, she states, “My work explores how individuals craft their life stories, delving into the interplay of memory, perspective, and bias. I aim to unravel the intricate layers of fiction that envelop our existence, revealing the impact of these constructed narratives on our perception of self and our relationships with others.”

Her interest in narratives sprang in part from her childhood in South Africa, where she witnessed shifting narratives in her school curriculum as well as in her community in wake of the end of Apartheid.

“I guess that's where the idea of stories and how stories or narratives get changed, or the curriculum we had in primary school for history had to change after 1994," she said. "But then you're also faced with other people who weren't taught that curriculum, and so you have these different stories that you're always navigating."

She pointed to the Day of Reconciliation, a South African holiday on Dec. 16. Before the end of Apartheid, it was known as the Day of the Vow, commemorating Dutch colonists' victory over the indigenous Zulus at the Battle of Blood River in 1838.

"The Boers won, and so they celebrate this thing," she said. "But you're celebrating a massacre of thousands of people. And so that obviously had to change. But there are still some people today, I think, who insist secretly, not very openly, how it's time to change these days" back to the way things were before Apartheid ended.

South African artist Suné Horn sits inside a house made of muslin fabric at her exhibition in Sweden in 2024. Courtesy of Suné Horn

Houses are not only public and, in a sense, political but also private and personal. Her ideas of how narratives shape our lives extend into her personal life.

“You have this massive argument with a friend," Horn explained, "and whatever future you have in your mind then evaporates and you're left in this void. And you have to then rebuild whatever future or idea you had of what the future would be. And then you’re questioning who you are and how different people influence who you are.”

Much of her inspiration comes from personal conversations, people-watching and simply listening to people talk.

Suné Horn's work is exhibited at Daejeon's Wooyeon Gallery in 2016. Courtesy of Suné Horn

Horn has had a residency and multiple group and solo exhibitions in Korea, an exhibition in Sweden and a cross-cultural curatorial education project between students in Korea and South Africa. She employs various media, from sculpture to illustration to toy photography.

Horn works across media, including film photography, toy photography, illustration and stop-motion animation. Sometimes, she engages in more playful work, which she says started as “an escape.” Her toy photography has been published in a book by Lego, and she has curated an exhibition of "Stuck in Plastic," an international collective of toy photographers of which she is a member.

A postcard for South African artist Suné Horn's exhibition "Liminal Phase" at Gongganare Gallery in Seoul / Courtesy of Suné Horn

Her latest solo exhibition, "Liminal Phase" suggests an end to her current state in transition to a new one. She says that right now she is “exploring that with no purpose, just for fun” and creating more animations and a short graphic narrative.

Horn is looking forward to the conversations that she will have with viewers of the exhibition.

“I do want my art to say, ‘this is what I'm experiencing at this point in my life. You've probably experienced it before. Tell me about it,’” she said.

Liminal Phase is at Gongganare Gallery in Seoul until Saturday.

Visit sunehorn.com or follow @sune_horn on Instagram for more information.

Monica Nickolai is a writer and artist. Her text-based artwork has appeared at exhibitions in the U.S., Europe and Korea. She currently lives in Daejeon and teaches at Hongik University's Sejong Campus. Visit monicanickolai.com for more information.