Split Second
Yuhan Hu, Isaiah Gulino
September 7th - September 29th, 2024
Opening reception Friday, September 27th 6-9pm
Open Hours: September 28th, 29th, 1-5pm
Split Second is a collaborative exhibition from Isaiah Gulino and Yuhan Hu that grapples with the impact of time on objects and people, pitting a single repeated image against fleeting seconds of film — highlighting the tension between the sequential and the singular.
For Isaiah, repeatedly destroying and recreating the same image allows him to transcend its original meaning. The image he uses, captured in 2017 while he was riding through the city in a box truck, features two women with a stroller and a child beside them. Through scale shifts, cropping, and varied color schemes, he creates disjointed perspectives within the narrative. In Boy with a Coin, Gulino isolates the boy from the larger scene, representing children who rely on chosen families in the absence of parental support—echoing Isaiah's own experience growing up without his biological father. By zooming in, repeating, and fragmenting the image, he explores how chosen families offer unconditional love and support in times of crisis.
Yuhan, trained as a photographer and now working in sculpture, combines both mediums to capture the passage of time. She sifts through her reservoir of footage, selecting one frame per second – 24 photos total – which she prints on transparent paper and adheres to found wood. This approach mirrors Eadweard Muybridge’s sequential studies of motion, allowing Yuhan to stretch time and encourage viewers to reflect on what can happen in just one second.
In "Happy Birthday," three hunter green wood panels from a construction site are stacked haphazardly. The textures of the found wood mimic the organic, nostalgic and intimate feel of the super eight footage which is known for its grainy textures, soft color palettes and light leeks. The piece features stills mimicking the effect of staring at the sun with closed eyes, accompanied by text on the wood: "Stare into the sun with eyes closed. Fireworks light up the sky. It should’ve been painful. Make a wish. Happy birthday to you. Make a wish.” The phrase “I love you so so so so much" is carved into the bottom right corner, while flowers atop the piece resemble birthday candles.
In Split Second, both artists delve into the themes of resurfacing memories and the passage of time – Isaiah stretches an image to extract meaning, while Yuhan freezes a moment. Central to their work is an exploration of photography and time, as they reflect on how materials age and change, ultimately questioning how much can happen in a single second of our lives.
Yuhan Hu was born in Beijing, China in 1999. She received her BFA from School of Visual Arts in 2021and is currently a MFA candidate at Hunter College. Yuhan combines her background in photography and video with sculptures. She extracts frames from videos and transfers them onto a chosen surface. The difference between each frame is so insignificant that it is barely detectable just by a glance. The easily neglected insignificance is like the pot of gradually boiling water that kills the frog without it being alerted. Instead of altering or manipulating the materials, Yuhan amplifies the quality of the materials. Her works are assembled in a delicate and precarious way. Yuhan's work has been exhibited in Tutu Gallery, iidrr Gallery, and featured in F-Stop Magazine.