Korean Pavilion at 56th Venice Biennale
Moon Kyungwon & Jeon Joonho
The Ways of Folding Space & Flying
Korean Pavilion
Giardini di Castello
Curator: Sook-Kyung Lee
The Ways of Folding Space & Flying is a multi-channel film installation created by Moon Kyungwon and Jeon Joonho. The project explores an archaeological quest into human civilization that interweaves history with visions of the future as told through a future-retrospective narrative. It also alludes to the institutional structure and historic evolution of the Venice Biennale, the scale and influence of which have been acquired within a shifting socio-political landscape.
The title of the project stems from the Korean words chukjibeop and bihaengsul. Originating from Taoist practice, chukjibeop means a hypothetical method of contracting physical distance. Bihaengsul refers to a supernatural power to levitate, fly and travel across time and space. They reflect the human desire to surpass the physical and perceived barriers and structures that bind us, despite the apparent absurdity of such imaginings. The project is part of an ongoing inquiry for the artists to make sense of what they perceive as a fundamental function of art in our increasingly uncertain and precarious environment.
Moon and Jeon’s previous projects, such as News from Nowhere (2012), focused on creating an interdisciplinary and transnational platform. This involved scholars and experts from various academic and professional fields, such as philosophy, science, film, design and architecture. The platform was intended to yield a concrete outcome: a film, publication or an archival exhibition that documented the collaborative process. Questions formed and considered through the platform were centred on the function and meaning of art, while acknowledging the constantly evolving nature of the topic. The past participants of the project include the architects Toyo Ito and MVRDV, composer Toshi Ichiyanagi, curator Hans-Ulrich Obrist, fashion designers Tsumura Kosuke and KUHO, film director Lee Changdong, and poet Ko Un, among many others.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue publication with essays and interviews by international curators and professionals from diverse disciplines.
About the commissioner and curator: Sook-Kyung Lee
Lives and works in London. Lee is currently Research Curator at Tate Research Centre: Asia-Pacific and the Curator of Asia Pacific Acquisitions Committee at Tate. She was previously Exhibitions & Displays Curator at Tate Liverpool, where she curated a number of exhibitions including Nam June Paikand Doug Aitken.
About the artists: Moon Kyungwon & Jeon Joonho
Live and work in Seoul. Their collaborative works have been showcased at numerous international exhibitions and art festivals, including Kassel dOCUMENTA (13) (2012), Home Works 6 at Beirut Art Center (2013), Singapore Biennale (2013), and Fukuoka Triennale (2014). The duo also presented a site-specific collaborative platform at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2013), an ongoing edition of which will open at the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst in Zurich this summer. Notable awards received include the Korea Artist Prize at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (2012) and the NOON Award at Gwangju Biennale (2012).