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Exhibition news: Yiyun Kang presents her site-specific work in the V+A

Having visited Yiyun Kang in her V+A studio to see what her residency is about, I’m looking forward to seeing this upcoming installation in the Cast Court:

Casting

Room 46a, Cast Courts, Victoria & Albert Museum
Friday 12 February 2016, 18:30一22:00
Friday 18 March 2016, 18.30一22.00
Free, drop in. Supported by Samsung

Casting poster

Casting is a site-specific installation created by V&A Samsung Korean Digital Art Resident Yiyun Kang as part of her six month residency at the Museum. On 12 February and 18 March, Kang will wrap the architectural casts in the Cast Courts with digital projections, thus inviting visitors to experience this iconic space in an entirely new way.

First opened in 1873, the Cast Courts were built to exhibit one of the most comprehensive collections of casts of post-classical European sculpture・The gallery houses the V&A’s largest objects and is among the most popular in the Museum. The Cast Courts have often been a source of controversy during the 14o-odd years of their history, not least because of an earlier reaction against copying original works of art. Now, however, the interest of the collection as a whole has come to be fully appreciated.

Kang’s interest in the Cast Courts stems precisely from the fact that the objects in this collection are copies rather than originals. The copy versus original ontology is particularly relevant for Kang because the notion of originality does not strictly exist in the digital realm. However, projection mapping is a medium that challenges this ontology in so far as-despite its digital nature-it exists only when incorporated into a physical environment.

In the artist’s words: ‘The atmosphere in the Cast Courts is already somewhat surreal. I have attempted to build on this atmosphere without producing physical objects. The layer of ephemeral lights creates a spatiotemporal experience in which the real casts meet the virtual in a unique symbiosis’.

Kang’s installation will coincide with the V&A’s Europe Festival, which will include an exciting programme of talks, performances and workshops to celebrate the Opening of the new Europe Galleries and Valentine’s Day!

About Yiyun Kang

Rather than focusing on the making of objects, Kang’s work creates relational environments through spatial projection mapping installations. These works investigate opposing values such as reality and virtuality, materiality and immateriality, object and non-object, while exploring the overlapping area between those extremes.

Kang is internationally recognized for her projection mapping installations. Her work has been exhibited in a number of museums and galleries in Europe, Asia and the United States and she has taken part in several residency programmes. Her work has been shown at Seoul Museum of Art, Taipei Museum of Contemporary Art and the Venice Architecture Biennale 2014. Yiyun has received several awards and has been commissioned to create work by various institutions and foundations.

Kang was born in Seoul, Korea. She holds a Bachelor in Fine Arts from Seoul National University’s Painting department and a Master in Fine Arts from UCLA’s Design & Media Arts department. She is currently working and pursuing a PhD at the Royal College of Art in London.

For more information: www.yiyunkang.com

Upcoming workshops at the V&A

Samsung Digital Classroom: Projection Mapping (16-19 year olds)
Saturday, 26 March 2016, 10:30一17.00

Work with V&A Samsung Korean Digital Art Resident Yiyun Kang to create stunning animated projections mapped onto physical surfaces that can be used in VJ’ing, performance, installations and interactives.

Projection Mapping: a 3 day workshop (all ages)
Thursday 10 – Saturday 12 March, 10:30-17.00

Learn about the latest projection mapping techniques in this three day workshop with V&A Samsung Korean Digital Art Resident Yiyun Kang. Discover how to map digital projections on physical surfaces and move beyond the traditional confines of the screen to create your own interactive installations.

Links:

(automatically generated) Read LKL’s review of this event here.

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