Born 1961, Seoul, South Korea
Lives and works in Seoul

Choi Jeong Hwa is known for his inflatable sculptures and large-scale, riotously coloured installations of everyday objects. For APT8, the beaded strands of his Cosmos 2015 are suspended above his mandala project created for QAGOMA's Children's Art Centre. The Mandala of Flowers 2015 involves a high level of audience participation and interaction, inviting children to create their own mandalas from colourful plastic bottle lids. The form of the work contradicts the content, since plastic is often regarded as a waste-product, inorganic, non bio-degradable, cheaply made and mass-produced — unlike the mandalas which are highly labour-intensive, transient, sacred and return immediately to the earth. Choi's works celebrates the beauty to be found in cheap plastics, kitsch souvenirs and popular imagery, challenging conventional taste and ideas of value. He intensifies the aesthetic experience of consumer culture, particularly as it manifests in the flea markets and street stalls in Seoul.

Choi Jeong Hwa has also worked with the QAGOMA Children's Art Centre to develop a project for APT8 Kids.