Artist Statement

Lily Hyon makes silicone props of bodies and objects that mirror the rapid, disposable nature of consumerist desire and mass-produced commodities. Silicone is a synthetic rubber commonly used in the sex and theater industry that enhances and replaces performance, pleasure, and the body. The bare feet and heels that appear in her work act as social agents that perform roles where private desire bleeds into public space, and audience expectations turn into something rather sinister.

Hyon’s practice examines the perceived values of desire and social currency attached to objects, and how consumer cycles of use, discard, and replacement affect reciprocity between people. Each foot and heel is painted to reveal narratives in its varying stages of wear and tear– from lightly used to heavily damaged, tattooed, grimy appendages with mint pedicures and worn-out stockings. Her work brings out the overlooked and exploited human traces in fetishized tropes, roles, and products that pervade popular and consumer culture.

Biography

Lily Hyon (b.1997, South Korea) is an artist living and working in Brooklyn, NY. She creates props of bodies and objects as a study of how desire is coded in consumer and material culture. Hyon received her MFA from the School of Visual Arts in 2025 and her BFA from Washington University in St. Louis in 2020. Her work has been exhibited at Lubov, New York, NY; Westbeth Gallery, New York, NY; John St Gallery, Brooklyn, NY; Accent Sisters, New York, NY; LatchKey Gallery, New York, NY; School of Visual Arts Graduate Center, CP Projects Space & Chelsea Gallery, New York, NY, and The Nook, St. Louis MO. Hyon was awarded a 2026 AIM Fellowship at The Bronx Museum.