Pushing boundaries: curator explores 'ridiculously interesting' art in South Korea

The Seoul Sculpture Festival was an unexpected surprise of 'magical forms'

On the hunt for bold, innovative and inspiring art and exhibitions, an unexpected encounter with the Seoul Sculpture Festival provided an auspicious start to my journey.

Shimmering under the blazing sun in the middle of Seoul’s Jongno-gu District, an enchanting scene of magical forms seemed to emerge from the urban park as if conjured from a surrealist painting.

Appropriately titled The Strange Encounter this sculpture installation hadn’t even been on my radar, but it was a delightful reminder of how contemporary art can engender extraordinary experiences that puncture the banality of the everyday. It also got me thinking about the strength of New Zealand-Korean sculptors, such as Seung Yul Oh, Yona Lee, Suji Park, Emerita Baik, Hanna Shim or Iann An — what kind of magic would their work conjure if it was displayed together in the open like this?

Chelsea: "...in the middle of Seoul’s Jongno-gu District, an enchanting scene of magical forms seemed to emerge from the urban park..."

One of the primary intentions of my trip to South Korea was to expand my knowledge of artists who push the traditional boundaries of art and contemporary craft, one of the specialist areas of The Dowse Art Museum.

On that first day alone, visits to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art MMCA, Art Sonje, Seoul Museum of Craft Art and the Jamunbak Echo artist residency certainly delivered on that brief, introducing me for the first time to a wide range of artists working across materials and ideas in really innovative ways.

One of these was Hansol Kim, who blurs the boundaries between textiles and the human body, transforming found garments into mutant corporeal forms that examine the evolving socio-cultural role of clothing in human society. A gallery filled with giant, wide-eyed fish heads also definitely satisfied my craving for more delightfully absurd and unexpected art encounters.

Chelsea: "One of the primary intentions of my trip to South Korea was to expand my knowledge of artists who push the traditional boundaries..."

"A gallery filled with giant, wide-eyed fish heads also definitely satisfied my craving for more delightfully absurd and unexpected encounters."

I coordinated my South Korea itinerary to travel with Aaron Lister (senior curator at City Gallery Wellington), my collaborator on Curator of Screams — our ongoing research project examining the connections between contemporary art and horror. Any fan of Korean horror movies will therefore understand our excitement at taking the train to Busan.

However, on this trip we were not seeking zombies, but pirates. Specifically, we were in the port city to meet up with Karl Chitham and Shannon Te Ao, to explore the Busan Biennale Seeing in The Dark, co-curated by New Zealand-born Vera Mey and Philippe Pirotte.

The biennale drew on the concept of “pirate utopias” as early forms of autonomous societies that served as refuge to social outcasts. Conceived around a notion of radical inclusivity, it cleverly adopted a grungier, punk aesthetic that proved to be a refreshing counterpoint to the slick art fairs and big budget museums that became characteristic of the rest of the trip.

Shannon Te Ao's installation at the New Zealand pavilion of the Gwangju Biennale

While it certainly didn’t lack large-scale works, such as the ambitious deconstructed installation of Eugene Jun or the heart-pounding spectacle of The Whip and The Knife by Vietnamese artists Nguyen Phurong and Truong Que Chi, Seeing In The Dark also offered a generous platform for works with a quieter profundity.

I fell particularly hard for a work by Thai artist Pratchaya Phintong — a spirit mirror made from the polished metal of unexploded bombs dropped on Laos by the US during the Vietnam war, referencing the mirror therapy used to treat phantom limb pain.

It was also gratifying to see Aotearoa artists — including Abigail Aroha Jensen, John Vea, Layne Waerea and Sorowit Songsataya — making such a strong contribution to the biennale.

Through generous interpretation and clever curating, it was clear how much this opportunity expanded the context and dialogue around their work, not to mention introducing their practices to massive new international audiences.

Works by Praychatya Phinthong (left) and Sorawit Songasatya at the Busan Biennale

The Busan Biennale was themed 'Seeing in The Dark' and was co-curated by Philippe Pirotte and New Zealander Vera Mey

After a first-hand experience of Korean horror in the hands of a bowl of mul-naengmyeon (icy cold noodles), which gave me the worst food poisoning of my life, we headed back to Seoul to attend the Frieze Seoul.

Exhausting, overwhelming and totally fun, the art fair format provides a good bang for your buck in the ability to forge connections with so many people from all facets of the art world in such a short period of time. But there were also opportunities to finally come face to face with some of the horror-inflected work I’ve loved from afar, including cracker works my Mire Lee, Li Wei and a blood-soaked installation from the early 1970s by Kim Young Jin.

Chelsea describes Frieze Art Fair as, "Exhausting, overwhelming and totally fun"

After the sensory overload of the art fair, it was a relief to spend time diving a little deeper into a few artist practices.

Some of the highlights included a visit with Doki Kim, an artist who explores notions of the metaphysical and extraterrestrial space through installations using materials like light, smoke and wax, who gave us a personal tour of her latest exhibition The Apple and The Moon at Gallery Baton.

We were invited to visit the studio of Dawha Jeon, an exciting young painter who interrogates the phenomenon of cursed images and memes on the internet.

Plans were hatched over drinks with Canadian internet artist Jon Rafman, after connecting at an opening of his work in C032c space in Seoul. The legendary multimedia artist Minouk Lim met with us to discuss her new work at BB&M gallery. It was a reminder of just how important those face-to-face connections with artists are, as there are now several exciting projects that began brewing in those meetings.   

Chelsea and Aaron Lister, senior curator at City Gallery Wellington, visited numerous galleries, studios and artists, including multimedia artist Minouk Lim (left) and painter Dawha Jeon (right)

I definitely had moments of feeling a little starstruck while spending time with these incredible international artists. However, attending the opening of Shannon Te Ao’s powerful and moving exhibition Ia rā, ia rā (rere runga, rere raro) – Everyday (I fly high, I fly low) at the New Zealand pavilion of the Gwangju Biennale was also a nice reminder of just how much Aotearoa artists punch above their weight too. Elegant and understated, Te Ao’s work evokes the fluttering journey of the tīwakawaka (fantail), speaking to the way we are guided toward and away from the present.

Artworks at the Gwangju Biennale

Top left: Chelsea, Aaron Lister and Abigail Aroha Jensen marking the end of the Gwanju Biennale

Although this might just be a reflection of my sagging energy levels toward the end of the trip, unfortunately I found the rest of the Gwangju Biennale kind of lacklustre.

Although the main exhibition included some work I loved — including strong presentations by Kandis Williams, Frida Orupabo, Harrison Pearce and Marguerite Humeau — it struck me as odd that my list of stand-outs were all American/European artists.

The representation of Asian artists felt weak in comparison. Curated by renowned French art critic Nicolas Bourriaud, I found the curatorial premise of ‘Pansori: a soundscape of the 21st century’ oblique and unconvincing, and the lack of interpretation made it difficult to connect with unfamiliar conceptual practices.

However, this certainly did not reflect of my general experience of exhibitions in South Korea. In particular, I thought there was a real strength in exhibitions that profiled the work of Asian women, including Minae Kim (a fellow alumni of my alma mater Ruskin School of Art at the University of Oxford) at Ilmin Museum of Art; an Anicka Yi survey at Leeum Museum of Art; and the exhibition Connecting Bodies: Asian Women Artists curated by Bae Myngju at (MMCA).

A work by Anicka Yi at Leeum Museum of Art

The latter exhibition in particular featured some great early works by one of my all-time favourite artists, Lee Bul, whose work I studied as part of my PhD on monstrous bodies in contemporary.

 It is one of my dreams to bring a significant exhibition of her work to Aotearoa. This possibility has taken a significant step into reality through a recent connection with Sunjung Kim, the artistic director of Art Sonje, one of Bul’s close friends and longest curatorial collaborators.

Connecting Bodies: Asian Women Artists curated by Bae Myngju at MMCA

I am already well over the word count, but feel like I’ve only begun to scratch the surface of this trip and all the incredible possibilities and connections it has opened up. I cannot begin to express my gratitude to Asia New Zealand Foundation for this rich experience. The seeds it this trip planted have already started to sprout monstrous pink tentacles, so watch this space!

 The Foundation's Arts Programme brings Asia into the mainstream of New Zealand arts by inspiring New Zealand arts professionals to grow their connections and knowledge of Asia. It also supports the presentation of Asian arts in partnership with New Zealand arts organisations and events.

Our Arts Practitioners Fund provides support for experiential opportunities for individual New Zealand-based arts practitioners to deepen artistic and professional connections with Asia, including residencies, work placements, research tours and exchanges.