Last year, Lebanese artist Tarek Atui held a workshop with elementary and middle school students in the border area of Cheorwon, Gangwon-do, where they made sounds using instruments made from various objects, such as candy and ping-pong balls. Artist Hong Young-in observed cranes flying to Cheorwon in winter, and Yang Hye
Likewise, the exhibition ‘Undo Planet’, which began last year when domestic and foreign contemporary artists collaborated with various institutions and village communities in Cheorwon to conduct research and workshops, opened at the Artsonje Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 3rd. The exhibition presents works examining climate change and the ecosystem by a total of 17 teams of artists, including 5 teams of artists who conducted field research in cheorwon, on the first and second floors of the Art Sonje Center. It is indeed broadly divided into three themes: ‘non-humans’, ‘land art’, and ‘community’.
In the ‘Nonhuman’ exhibition hall, you can see that artist Hong Young-in, who observed cranes, placed shoes in the shape of crane feet on the white sand. By having the audience imagine cranes wearing shoes, the intention is to view them as individual beings with their own identities rather than as ‘birds’.
Hae-gyu Yang created ‘Yellow Dance’, a video work that looks back at the human world with bees as the main characters, and the sculptures ‘Gamabeol shrine’ and ‘Lighthouse Bee Dual Mansion’, which were inspired by beekeeping hives. Danish artist Silas Inoue planted mold spores in a sculpture inside a glass box that resembled a microcosm. As the exhibition period passes,you can observe the mold growing and changing color and shape.
In the ‘Land Art’ exhibition, you can see works on the theme of ecology and the surroundings from the 1970s and 1980s. Robert Smithson’s video ‘Spiral Breakwater’ (1970), considered a pioneer of land art, and Nancy Holt’s ‘sun Tunnel’ (1978) are introduced. You can also see paintings, performance records, and photographs by Lim Dong-sik, a Korean nature artist. In ‘Community’,video records of Atui’s workshops and prints by pangrok Sulab,which explores the ecological culture of Thai fishing communities,are displayed.
Art Sonje Center, the artist group Mossy Rock Kurd (Jo Ji-eun, Ko gyeol, Kim Jung-won)’s solo exhibition ‘Stone Living Upside Down’ will be held. The Maitreya stone statues found abandoned throughout Korea were recorded through rubbings and video to create a work of art. The video work ‘The Stone Living Upside Down’ reconstructs scenes where a statue of Maitreya is placed next to a broken barn or an abandoned school like a landscape painting. Also, the paper painting ‘Deodeumgi’, which is a charcoal rubbing of Maitreya, is hanging on the wall.
The authors focused on the fact that Maitreya was established in various places in korea as a Buddha symbolizing the future, but was forgotten over time. It is said that the reason why several rubbings of Maitreya Buddha statues were able to be made was because they were abandoned. In the process of visiting, groping, and recording these neglected Buddhist statues, he came to “imagine that in order to approach the future that maitreya spoke of, we would have to live ‘upside down’ while embracing the past,” and that became the foundation for his work. During the exhibition period, artist talks by Hae-gyu Yang will be held on the 7th and Moss Rock Kurur on the 14th. Both exhibitions will run until January 26th next year.
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What themes does the ‘Undo Planet’ exhibition explore regarding environmental issues and community interaction?
Ause they were often found abandoned in rice fields and other neglected areas, serving as a poignant reminder of the cultural and historical shifts over time.
The ‘Undo Planet’ exhibition at the art sonje Center showcases a diverse array of contemporary art focused on environmental themes and community interactions. Artists have explored the impactful narratives of climate change and ecological interconnections through various mediums, including visual arts, sculpture, video, and performance.
Among the highlighted works is Hong Young-in’s ‘Crane’s Snowfield’ (2024), wich creatively incorporates the theme of individual identity in nature by placing crane-foot-shaped shoes on white sand, prompting viewers to reconceptualize cranes as distinct entities. Silas inoue’s installation, ‘Infrastructure’ (2024), invites observers to witness the unpredictable growth of mold within a glass sculpture, a metaphor for life cycles and ecological change.
In the ‘Land Art’ section, significant pieces include Robert Smithson’s film ‘Spiral Breakwater’ (1970) and Nancy Holt’s ‘Sun Tunnel’ (1978), both of which are considered seminal works in the land art movement, reflecting on humanity’s relationship wiht the habitat over the decades.
The exhibition further expands its thematic reach with community-driven projects, such as Tarek Atui’s ‘The Hive-Workshop’ (2023), engaging local populations in artistic collaboration to draw attention to communal experiences and natural phenomena.
Through these works, ‘Undo Planet’ not only highlights critical environmental issues but also emphasizes community involvement and the meaning of artistic expression in fostering awareness and dialog around pressing global matters.