define

In this project, I designed a physical brochure and a digital wiki to guide audiences through an imagined exhibition, define. Six works—including future works—are materialized and curated to define life through the words of Jae Hyeok Lee. Seek Infinity and Nunchi become part of define under the titles Desire and Incompleteness.

The brochure is designed as a text-based guide without any documented images. It navigates the audience through the exhibition while explaining each work in a neutral tone. Each chapter of the brochure corresponds to one of the six works and can be read either before or after the exhibition experience. After moving through all six chapters, the audience arrives at the final page of Jae Hyeok Lee’s definitions, which presents two distinct instructions.

On this last page, the audience is invited either to scan a QR code to explore more definitions by Jae Hyeok Lee or to unfold and flip the brochure to define their own meanings, unrelated to what they experienced inside the exhibition. If they choose to explore further, they encounter additional definitions and stories, while also being reminded that these are still written from a single person’s perspective. If they choose to unfold the brochure, they are met with words and blanks that can be filled with other words and viewpoints. Jae Hyeok Lee’s definitions are written over standard dictionary definitions, allowing audiences to write their own definitions over them after the exhibition.

This project began with designing the structure of an imaginary exhibition that creates space to think about definitions, rather than simply persuading or expressing my own. Through two previously materialized projects and four incomplete drafted works, the audience is invited to experience a life defined by Jae Hyeok Lee: a short span of time shaped by both bitterness and sweetness, without a second chance.

The brochure’s folded structure also departs from regular formats such as the tri-fold or z-fold. Instead, twelve pages are arranged within a tabloid-sized sheet using a roll-fold after a half fold. These twelve pages guide the reader along a one-directional path until they reach the final page, where an action outside the page is required. Scanning the QR code or unfolding and flipping the brochure allows the audience to exit both the brochure and the exhibition after their experience.

The wiki was created using the WikiWikiWiki engine by Min Guhong. Although it is written by a single person, the wiki format was chosen for its openness to continuous revision. Definitions may shift over time, or remain the same.