Seoul, August 7 – September 6, 2015, http://www.arkoartcenter.or.kr
A group exhibition around the theme of interpretation and re-interpretation of artworks, featuring Creative VaQi (76min), Hankil Ryu+Taeyong Kim (57min 13 sec), Nomadic Drift (20min 56sec), Sujin Lee (23min 58sec), Christelle Lheureux (18min + 33min), The Otolith Group (33min 32sec), Barbara Hammer (29min), Ben Russell (22min 30sec).
Christelle Lheureux “Water Buffalo” (L) + Ben Russell “Atlantis” (R)
Prior to the exhibition opening, there was a period when the exhibition space has been used for performances by three artist groups (Creative VaQi, Hankil Ryu+Taeyong Kim and Nomadic Drift). After the opening a documentation of these performances became part of the exhibition.
The whole exhibition consisted only of video works. It had a beautiful high-value exhibition design. Basically a series of mini-cinemas, each in a different form. The fact that all the works were video-based also presented a big challenge for the visitor: If one wanted to see everything on display, one would have to stay for about 6 hours in the space. This was problematic.
In the end, it was the aforementioned exhibition architecture which made the strongest impression on me. The video works, of which I only saw incongruous snippets as I moved through the show, are all mixed up in my head now, and I have a hard time to recall any specific narratives or impressions.
Some pieces left in my mind: I was most curious about The Otoligh Group, as I saw some works from them at biennales previously, and they always left a mysterious aftertaste of wanting to see more without completely understanding what it was about. Unfortunately this was the ‘cinema’ with the worst sound of all, and I somehow didn’t have the patience to sit through the 33 minute piece (“I See Infinite Distance between Any Point and Another”).
The Otolith Group “I See Infinite Distance Between Any Point and Another”
Christelle Lheureux’ “Water Buffalo” (33:00) was a work that caught my attention while walking through the show. It seemed to be a story about the trauma left behind by war in Vietnam, overlapping two different stories from today’s life and war time. Once again, my time budget was not big enough to see it all.
Christelle Lheureux “Water Buffalo” (L) + Ben Russell “Atlantis” (R)
In addition to these two personal highlights, I tried to watch Sujin Lee’s “Theresa Hak Kyung Cha Project” (23 minutes) for a while (the only video installation where video was supplemented by text/image installation). It was a documentary style of the video, mostly consisting of interviews with people, asking them how they understand the Korean poet’s oeuvre. I also glanced over Ben Russell’s Atlantis (22 minutes), which had some nice seaside views, an interview with a priest and some guys singing in the pub.
Sujin Lee “Theresa Hak Kyung Cha Project”
Overall the show looks great, but it demands too much time from the visitors. If one thinks of the show as a cinema multiplex, it will probably lead to less frustration: First read the program, and then decide for one movie to see. Same approach as in the cinema. But in that case, can it still be called an exhibition? In an exhibition, it is the relationships and story-lines between works that matter… If I manage to scrape together enough time, I am considering to head back to see my two favorites (The Otolith Group and Christelle Lhereux).
Ben Russell “Atlantis”
The Otolith Group (L) + Ben Russell (R)
The Otolith Group (L) + Christelle Lhereux “Non Ricordi Il Titolo” (R)
The Otolith Group (L) + Christelle Lhereux “Non Ricordi Il Titolo” (R)