Gwangju Biennale explores border issues in scattergun approach
North Korean art in South Korea
One of the sections that drew attention even ahead of the opening is “North Korea Art: Paradoxical Realism.”
BG Muhn, art professor at Georgetown University and son-in-law of the late artist Chun Kyung-ja, brought contemporary North Korean paintings to South Korea, providing a glimpse to the art scene of the communist state.
“Whether you live in North (Korea) or South, you cannot live without the ideological issues and that has been hitting me very hard,” Muhn said. “This is the very first opportunity for South Koreans and others to see North Korean art in full spectrum, the only country in the world that still creates Socialist Realism paintings.”
The “Chosonhwa,” or North Korean painting, refers to traditional ink and wash painting on absorbent rice paper.
“It is an art form that only exists in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. North Korean artists developed unique characteristics in political, cultural and historical context. These highly representative images are the vehicles to depict everyday life and Chosunhwa is the most revered form of art in North Korea through support of the state,” Muhn said. “Other Asian countries also have similar ink and wash methods, but Chosonhwa has vibrant colors and three-dimensional rendering that contributes considerably to the North Koreanness.”
The professor said Chosonhwa is largely propagandist art, but propaganda is not all it is.
“It is propagandist and has uniformity, but also has individuality and diversity. This is a historic project giving a glimpse to the intriguing North Korean art and culture,” Muhn said.
The North Korean paintings are divided into four genres — ideological painting, landscape painting, literati painting and animal painting.
“North Korean art is often criticized for being generic and monotonous, but when you look at each piece, you can find even North Korean artists do their best visually,” Muhn said.
The paintings on view are borrowed from the Mansudae Art Studio in Beijing and the Yedo Arts Foundation in the U.S.
Outside the box
This year, Gwangju Biennale commissioned four artists to explore and take inspiration from historic sites in Gwangju and create site-specific works, bringing the city’s history and art together.
For the first-ever GB Commission, the artists researched the former Armed Forces’ Gwangju Hospital, a pivotal place of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement and has been abandoned for about a decade since the hospital moved and the building closed down in 2007.
British artist Mike Nelson transformed the hospital church located at the end of a forest trail into a place of reflection. Nelson installed small and large mirrors found in the old hospital building in the annex church for “Mirror reverb,” shedding light on the sense of absence in the derelict structure.
French artist Kader Attia placed metal staples on cracked wooden beams as if attempting to heal them in “Eternal Now.” The beams are installed here and there in the abandoned hospital building, bleak and dreary.
Thai experimental film director Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Constellations” combines film and installation, gathering rem- nants of memory from the former hospital.
Last but not least, Adrian Villar Rojas made the film “The War of the Stars,” which is on view at the ACC, portraying historical, socio-political, cultural and geographical layers of Gwangju and the hospital.
Viewing of the former Armed Forces’ Gwangju Hospital is available only through guided tours from 3 to 6 p.m. every day.
Poetic invitation
“Today Will Happen,” co-produced by Palais de Tokyo from Paris and the ACC’s Asia Culture Institute, is the most poetic exhibition of the 2018 Gwangju Biennale.
The exhibition, held at the Gwangju Civic Center, is literally based on French writer Michel Houellebecq’s poem “The Art of Struggle” and 11 participating artists explore the potential for translation in various forms. Houellebecq himself also contributed two visual artworks — “Inscription #012” and “Inscription #013.”
The Gwangju Civic Center is another ruin in the city, built some 50 years ago as a cultural space for Gwangju citizens, but now almost in a state of disuse, artists unraveled their imagination at the site.
Tarik Kiswanson’s performance “The Other Side of the Lip” features 11-year-old twin brothers who move around the venue and recite lines about self-revelation and comingof-age.
Sound artist Jang Young-gyu’s “Phantom of Sound” trails traces of phantoms throughout the past and into the present.
Lee Mi-re’s “Hysteria, Elegance, Catharsis; words were never enough” is ever-changing as the plastic sculpture is powered by motor and also flutters in the wind constantly.
Leonard Martin’s whimsical kinetic sculp- ture is inspired by writings of Irish novelist James Joyce and interprets the narrative in an architectural way.
The Helsinki International Artist Program (HIAP) presents “Fictional Frictions” at the Mugaksa Temple’s Lotus Gallery.
The Philippine Contemporary Art Network presents Houthouse at the Leekangha Art Museum and Hothouse.
This year’s biennale runs through Nov. 11. For more information, visit www.gwangjubiennale.org or call 062-608-4114.