2025 MFA Thesis Exhibition

Records affirm existence—what once was, still is. But do I truly exist? How do I know? Three elements tether me to existence: time (human + number), location (human + space), and human relationships (human + human). When humanity and tracking, predicting, and applying measurements meet, time is created. When humanity and space meet, a place emerges. When humans encounter one another, a community forms. Through different spaces and communities, I’ve discovered the names and purposes that define me, exploring how I assimilate and feel a sense of belonging. This realization led me to focus on the desire to become a cohesive whole, yet simultaneously showing the impossibility of absolute union. How can I hold my existence? I wrote down the time, in my home relationship with myself. I collected my movement, everyday actions at home alone. No one can see what I am doing at home, every single movement is due to my decision. My work accumulates these traces of daily actions, translating them into sculptural and time-based forms, materializing the rhythms of my presence. People name things. We build systems. We search for the many selves within us.

Hannah Bang (b. 1998, South Korea) is an interdisciplinary artist based in New York City. Her work spans various media, including video, painting, performance, and installation, with a focus on exploring and presenting an understanding of human consciousness, specifically examining how one can recognize self-existence. Hannah has exhibited her work in solo and group shows across the United States and South Korea. Her notable exhibitions include a solo show at SCAD C-5 in Atlanta, a two-person exhibition at Cedar House Gallery in Savannah, and group shows in LIC (2023), 25 East Gallery (2024), and (2025) in New York. Her work has also been featured at art fairs in Busan and Suwon, South Korea. In 2023, she completed an NES Artist Residency in Skagaströnd, Iceland. At Parsons, The New School, she was awarded the Student Travel Research Grant by the Provost’s Office and USS Art Material Funds in 2024. In addition to her art practice, Hannah is the founder of IN 3 SECONDS, a web magazine that introduces artists and art events. She also curated a group exhibition at 72 Warren St, New York, and co-curated a show at 25 East Gallery in 2024.