News of a group show at the Mall Galleries, 23rd Mar – 3rd Apr 2010, 10am – 5pm (Closes 4pm on final day).

As interest in the arts of the Far East becomes greater than ever, a new company has been established which aims to present its best, most innovative artists to a new audience.

Founded by Young Hong, Far East Fine Art Ltd will be the first stop for all those fascinated by the evolving Eastern arts scene in all its different forms, media and styles.

Far East Fine Art’s first exhibition in London will take place at the MALL GALLERIES from March 23rd to 3rd April. It will feature the work of seven exciting and enormously varied artists from South Korea: Lim, Tae-Gyu; Seo, Jung Hak; Kim, Jun Ki; Jung, Young Mo; Youn, Hyun Sook; Shin, Hyun-Dae and Sonn, Jong Jin.

Lim Tae-gyu

Lim Tae-gyu: Tong River Valley. 190 x 95cm, ink and body colour on hanji

This astonishing suite of pictures are a series of Studies of the Tong River.

We find a powerful combination of Eastern aesthetic codes and a Western conception of depicting reality recalling the intense, almost mystical detail of the work of Kaspar David Friedrich and much topographical painting from the Enlightenment period. We find in equal measure an absorption in detail which recalls near-Ruskinian levels.

Sonn John-jin

Sonn Jong Jin: Lady-YS. 117 x 78cm Digital Image

This Korean photographer takes the visual investigation of the human image as his central subject.

The instantaneous nature of the medium of photography captures and records evanescent facets of a superficial, shifting form which may reveal previously unseen elements of personality.

The tension here resides in the fact that the photographic images are easily manipulability and therefore can distort the originally revealed facet of personality. The main question which the artist poses is by how much and what extra qualities does the enhancement reveal about the original.

Seo Jung-hak

Seo Jung-hak: Shout. 90 x 90cm, Mixed media

Many of Seo’s work have as their central conceit the reconciliation of fundamental contradictions.

The predominant colour which provides the central coda of his work points to an overall neutrality – what is grey if it is not some form of aesthetic compromise between black and white? It could be seen as an aesthetic middle-ground reached at through a reconciliation of opposites. We find in the works an exploration of the complexity of this reconciliation process.

Perhaps the most immediately recognizable iconographical image of this conundrum is the Yin and Yang glyph which is a symbol of harmony and balance; a resolution of opposites. For a Western audience it is fascinating to explore the points of connection. We could posit that the nearest aesthetic equation in the West are Fibonacci equations which pursue a line of beauty or formulae governing successfully resolved aesthetic productions. Similar mathematical structures are seen to govern phenomena in the natural world, such as the Nautilus shell and the florescence of plants.

A similar complexity of approach can be seen as the governing spirit of Jung Seo’s work.

Kim Jun-ki

Kim Jun-ki: the Seen City 0914: Silver mirror, Sheet LED, light box 120 x 71cm

These striking and original works seek to impose their own resolution of layers of reality which are sometimes wildly at odds with one another. The images portray the interplay the interplay of internal, external and virtual images with the surrounding context of a brightly colored, often turbulent and confusing urban reality at the same time as establishing a visual dialogue with the viewer.

The fact that the images are displayed back-lit transforms the pictures into illuminated objects, in a similar way to stained-glass windows.

Jung Young-mo

Jung Young-mo: Story of Home Town. 160 x 130cm, Acrylic on hanji

The central theme of Jung’s work is the changing nature of our memories of childhood which is expressed through specific images relevant to his own childhood. The works are naif depictions of his own memories, his childhood home, farmyard animals, trees which appear toy-like – all seen through the eyes of a child. There is an inherent reflection contained in the paintings that as we age we lose our sense of spontaneity and purity of mind.

An important image is the Cockerel whose appearance hints at the loss of innocence, with the Cockerel being symbolic of betrayal in the Christian story.

Youn Hyun-sook

Youn Hyun-sook: Flower Shadow. 100 x 72.7cm. Body colour on hanji

The starting point of Youn’s paintings is the woodland scenario. Within the wood, the changing seasons, day and night and the shifting seasonal flora and fauna are seen to depict the changing nature of human experience. Navigation within the wood itself becomes a metaphor for the various different stages of discovery about ourselves and our emotions throughout the different stages of life.

Shin Hyun-dae

Shin Hyun-dae

This artist explores the scenes of agricultural productiveness to be found in the Han River Valley in South Korea and allows the reader to interpret the lessons which nature itself can teach if approached in the correct way.

The relationship between landscape and humanity is seen to be a delicate and perhaps fragile interdependence. It is clear that only if we adopt a gentle and respectful attitude to the productive and sustaining powers of nature can this dependence be maintained. Nature is self-regenerating; it is cyclical, which in turn is capable of teaching humanity profound lessons.

He is particularly fascinated by the beauty and vigorous movement of early morning mist – through this mist we observe the spirit of the earth.

Links:

• Far East London, the official website

Fifty three young Korean artists in one place, 2010’s 4482 exhibition is its third and biggest ever incarnation. The initiative’s name is drawn from the UK’s and South Korea’s international dialling codes (+44 and +82 respectively) and focuses on young Korean artistic talent based in the London area. In many cases the artists are students, but in others they have settled down to live in the UK. The idea had its first incarnation in New Malden in 2007, and moved to the Bargehouse in the OXO Tower wharf with 40 artists in October 2008. The location works well, with plenty of space for installations, and this year’s show was again at the riverside location. Such venues don’t come cheap though, and the exhibition only lasts for 3 or 4 days. If you’re someone who likes coming back to an exhibition to revisit particular works which caught your eye the first time round, you have to move quickly with 4482.

As in last year’s exhibition, there is a wide variety of art forms on view, including video work, sculpture, painting, photography and installation art. It is always good to see some familiar artists – for example Daehun Kwon’s imaginative and hypnotically compelling shadow sculptures and Ayoung Kim’s photographic reconstructions of gory newspaper stories have exhibited from the first show. Other regulars on the London art scene are Sang Yoon Yoon’s oils expressing feelings of solitude and rejection; Gunwoo Shin’s metal reliefs conjuring up sometimes nightmarish mental landscapes (one of them calls to mind the gruesome bin bag in Takashi Miike’s Audition); Luca Sang-jun Kim’s vibrantly layered abstracts whose paintwork is the visual equivalent of the ringing of a brass bell; and Chan-hyo Bae’s photographs depicting the (male) artist in elaborate historical or fairy-tale (female) costume.

It’s also equally pleasurable to see some new faces. So in this brief review, which cannot possibly do justice to so many artists and the wide range of work on display, I’m focusing on the work of artists who have struck me for the first time.

Still from video work by Jihye Park

I confess to not being a natural fan of video art. It always seems to me that asking a viewer to give a certain amount of time to a viewing, when it might mean nothing to him, is asking too much. I’m sure I’ve seen some of Jihye Park’s work before, and not registered much. Vut this time was different. An almost naked white man – almost unhealthily white – reclines languorously on a chaise longue, a blanket strategically placed to avoid embarrassment. A young Korean woman is caressing him possessively, kissing him, almost worshipping him, as he reclines motionless and emotionless. Is this every man’s fantasy, being so adored by an exotic Asian? If subject doesn’t seem to be particularly enjoying it, he doesn’t appear to be hating every moment either: he is not displaying any reaction at all. We wonder what is going on here: are the two people lovers? There seems to be no passion, certainly no arousal on the part of the man. If not lovers, what other reason has brought them together into this situation? The woman seems to be enjoying herself more than the man. Who is exploiting whom?

In a second scene, the man is fully clothed, in black. Directly facing the camera, he seems to be kneeling or sitting, hands behind his back, perhaps tied there? Again, the Korean woman – long, rather unkempt hair, white dress, like the ghost from the Japanese horror movie The Ring. Is he a prisoner? Again, who is exploiting whom? Our initial assumption that the white male is exploiting the oriental female may not be right. The viewer is not told the answer, but then with some works there is no definitive answer.

Detail of installation by JooHee Hwang

In the same darkened room was an installation by JooHee Hwang: a large black box, illuminated from within, pierced with small peep-holes, only big enough for you to look through with one eye. Inside, a small model of a chicly dressed woman, standing in a corridor of hoops. To the side, a small male figure looked on. Through the peep holes you could only see parts of the scene at a time. It was like a psychedelic set from a 1960s movie by Seijun Suzuki or The Prisoner. What was going on was not clear, but certainly there were several layers of voyeurism involved.

Joo-hee Chun: Blessing

Onwards to more restful work, and an artist new to the Korean Art scene in London. Joo-hee Chun trained at Winchester college of art, and this was her first London showing, with three paintings from her “Blessing” series. Chun, a committed Christian, paints as her spirit (or The Spirit) guides her, with layer upon layer of abstract and seemingly random calligraphy. The different layers are translucent, allowing the viewer to see the prayers building up over time. The whole is remarkably peaceful to look at, recalling the 1970s series of monochrome paintings Écriture by Park Seobo.

Jungju Yoon: Communion

Continuing the religious theme, Jungu Yoon had a panel of nine paintings made out of red wine and canvas entitled “Communion”. The result was slightly reminiscent of the Turin Shroud.

Jae Yeon Chung: Love Letters in Hyde Park

Another set of works best viewed as a whole was Jae Yeon Chung’s poignant, one-sided collection of emails sent from an infatuated English language teacher to his elusive and uninterested Korean girlfriend. Were the emails really sent? Do people bare their innermost thoughts in an email which can be forwarded and copied so readily? If they were real, what brutal, vindictive artistic instinct prompted the recipient to blow them up into massive panels and display them first in Hyde Park and then in the Bargehouse at this exhibition? Plenty of food for thought.

Seungpyo Hong: The Man without Shoes (Urinary Bladder)

There was also plenty of humour. We have seen Seungpyo Hong’s Heath Robinson contraptions before, at the KCC Supervisions exhibition in December 2009, and they are always entertaining. But in the same room was a sculpture by Chinwook Kim which was attracting a lot of attention: a male figure, standing on a set of bathroom scales, gloomily looking at the weight depicted therein. But this was not any male figure: the ornate paisley tattoos suggested that this man was a tough guy, a gangster. But the forlorn slump in his shoulders cried out that even the toughest guy can be vain about his body image.

Chinwook Kim: Gangster on bathroom scales

Soonhak Kwon: Wonderwall

And with all the interesting work on display, there was one work which was deliberately minimalist: Soonhak Kwon’s ultra-high-resolution photographs of a gallery wall just after the closing of an exhibition: the grain of the paint was almost tactile; you reached out to peel the blue-tak off the surface of the image, but of course it was just a photograph – “A photograph with no subject, yet a subject itself; the nothing becomes something, and vice versa,” explains the artist in the 4482 catalogue.

In fact one of the strengths of the exhibition was that many of the artists were present – if you could find them in the bustle of the opening reception. So if you couldn’t immediately engage with a work, a quick conversation with its creator at least was able to clarify the artist’s intentions and help you get closer to it.

To marshal 53 artists into one brief exhibition is a huge organisational achievement. With such a variety of work on display no common theme can be discernible other than diversity – which means that there is always going to be work that is going to appeal to someone. It is to be hoped that 4482 is now a regular fixture of the Korean artistic scene in London, giving us the chance to see the wealth of Korean talent coming through the art colleges.

News of an unusual installation at the Jerwood Space:

Yeon Lee: Re-use me
(curated by Gyeyeon Park)
Project Space, Jerwood Space, 171 Union Street, London, SE1 0LN
Exhibition: 1 March – 6 April 2010
Open: Monday – Friday 9 – 5pm, Saturday 11 – 3pm
Admission: Free

‘Re-use me’ is an installation of new work by Yeon Lee. Made for the project space the work transforms the cafe into a banqueting hall of sorts. The installation consists of a magnificent chandelier of crocheted flowers made of more than two hundred plastic bags from supermarket chains. The inherent irony of a chandelier – signifying wealth, prestige and history – composed of discarded carrier bags – signifying waste and rubbish – is heightened by the neutral and somewhat prosaic context of the Café.

Each element of the three-stage production: plastic bags (material), flowers (intermediary) and a chandelier (artwork) is a huge labour intensive process which builds a work that will exist for a short period of time. This reinforces Lee’s interest in what she describes as ‘ephemeral value caused by temporal demand’ – the short term value of objects that will be discarded shortly after their use.

Yeon Lee (Born in 1976, South Korea) completed her MA in Fine Art at Goldsmiths College, University of London in 2008 after finishing her MFA and BFA in Sculpture at Hong-Ik University, Seoul in 2002 and 1999 respectively. Solo exhibitions include: Cloth Drawing, KUNST FORM, Austria Tirol (2003) and DRAW, PICI Gallery, Seoul (2003). Selected group exhibitions include: Five Years, Sesame Gallery, London (2009), UK’s FUTURE GREATS 08, Salon Gallery, London (2008). Selected Awards include: Danfoss Art Competition – Silver Medal (2008), Jung-ang Art Competition (2000).

Further information: www.yeon-lee.com / www.gyeyeonpark.com

1. Kick a man when he’s down: steal his shoes from the funeral parlour. Sole searching in the JoongAng Daily http://bit.ly/adnzyI #
2. Biggest mass wedding in a decade: 14,000 are spliced in Unification Church ceremony: http://bit.ly/bFouGw #
3. New Product Approval Bill expected to be passed 26 Feb. Unnecessary intervention or saving bankers from themselves? http://bit.ly/c9Mk2s #
4. 

   Lee Bul

   Good interview with cyborg artist Lee Bul in the Korea Times. "Lee Bul Pioneers Korean Contemporary Art" http://bit.ly/cxvu6K #
5. Looking forward to a trip to Cambridge tomorrow for the Korean adoptee conference. Hope the weather's OK. http://bit.ly/b4Pmzg #
6. "Hansik begins to surface in central London" says Korea Herald – a mini feature on Korean eateries in London. HT: Jo http://bit.ly/bzJUCu #
7. Arario Gallery Nurtures Emerging Artists – one of Korea's leading galleries featured in Korea Times http://bit.ly/ah1qNP #
8. Independent film directors protest KOFIC decision to hand MediACT management rights to ADKF – Hankyoreh. HT Dan Martin http://bit.ly/b6l3z5 #
   

   Independent film directors including “Old Partner” Director Lee Chung-ryul, second from right, hold a press conference to announce that they cannot allow their films to be screened theaters managed by the KOFIC-appointed Association for Diversity in Korean Film at Neutinamu Hall of the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) located in Seoul, Feb. 18. From the Hankyoreh.

9. @KimVerhaaf It was a fascinating conference at Cambridge – very thought-provoking in reply to KimVerhaaf #
10. @JamesTurnbull I'm going to sound like an old fogey, but that's a dreadful racket. Probably the original was better. in reply to JamesTurnbull – on an orchestral version of Gee by Girls’ Generation #

    Click here to view the embedded video.

    • JamesTurnbull: @lklinks Oh, it’s not THAT bad(!), but I admit I just tweeted it 4 the novelty value. Prob. the sound quality doesn’t do it justice though. 1:51 PM Feb 21st via HootSuite in reply to lklinks

Powered by Twitter Tools

Now in its third year, 4482 [SASAPARI] is the annual showcase for Korean contemporary artists living and working in London. In 2010, subtitled Utopia/ Dystopia: A Palace with Contemporary Views, it presents the latest work from 53 artists in the cavernous Bargehouse building on the South Bank.

In the art world’s continual search for the new, the past decade has seen major shows and festivals for Chinese, Indian, Japanese and other Asian contemporary art – but the large number of Korean artists living and working in London have yet to be institutionalized. However, for those who regularly visit the graduate shows of London’s leading art colleges (or indeed, teach there) there is a growing recognition that the most surprising and exciting work often has a Korean name attributed to it. Thankfully, many of these emerging artists have stayed to continue their art practice in London and are represented in 4482 [SASAPARI]. With such an eclectic range, 4482 [SASAPARI] is the largest ever exhibition of Korean contemporary artists in the UK.

The title of the showcase 4482, pronounced Sa Sa Pa Ri as in Korean fashion, is derived from the combination of the international dialing codes, 44 for UK and 82 for Korea. These four digits have not only come to represent the cross-cultural dialogue in which the artists are inevitably engaged, but furthermore they embody an imagined community. During the course of the curatorial process in the realisiation of this year’s show, each artist has been given the opportunity to ponder their view of the world where they live in and/or belong to. They investigate dimensions of utopian-dystopian thinking in various spheres of contemporary life. Thus 4482 [SASAPARI] is another sphere where artists invite the viewer to contemplate various signs of political, social, technological, ecological, and gender utopianism which are intermingled with dystopian and apocalyptic imagery as a counterbalance to utopian enthusiasm.

Not every artist strictly speaks of a distinctive two-fold world view. Dystopian maps have been superimposed over utopia, but also as utopian constructions where dystopian realities have been absorbed, negated and transcended in order to generate a new utopian synthesis. Yet it would be useful to remind oneself prior to stepping into 4482 [SASAPARI] to see what unfolds before the audience this year, that the word Utopia was coined with an almost certainly intended pun by Thomas More in 1516: the Greek pun on ‘ou-topos’ meaning no place and ‘eu-topos’ meaning good place.

Participating artists: Gyeong-Yoon An, Je Baak, Jinhee Bae, Chan-Hyo Bae, Anna Choi, Mi-Young Choi, Joo-Hee Chun, Jae Yeon Chung, U Jae Chung, Jung-Ouk Hong, Seungpyo Hong, Jeong Mun Hur, Shan Hur, JooHee Hwang, Sein Hwang, Honey Im, Da kyoung Jeong, Yun Kyung Jeong, SoYoung Jung, Yoonjin Jung, Yeonhyung Kang, Ayoung Kim, Chinwook Kim, Dong Yoon Kim, Gemini Kim, Jeong Eun Kim, Luca sang-jun Kim, Young Mi Kim, Hyeyoung Ku, Dae Hun Kwon, Soon-Hak Kwon, Jin Han Lee, Sue Jin Lee, Sunju Lee, Yeon Lee, Soonnam Lim, Changhwan Park, Hye-Joung Park, Hyemin Park, Hyungji Park, Hyungjin Park, Jihye Park, Jinhee Park, Yeojoo Park, Daihyun Ryu, Jung Eun Ryu, Amy hye jung Shin, Gunwoo Shin, Kiwoun Shin, Nicky Seok H. Won, Seung Hyun Woo, Jungu Yoon, Sang-Yoon Yoon

Bargehouse
Oxo Tower Wharf, Bargehouse Street,
South Bank, London SE1 9PH
Nearest Tube Stations: Southwark, Waterloo

25 – 28 February 2010
Open Daily 11am – 6pm
Admission Free
www.4482.info

One of LKL’s favourite exhibitions of 2009 was Korean Aesthetics at Albemarle Gallery. One of the artists from that exhibition, Kim Yeon, returns to the Albemarle in a group show which also includes work by David Reimondo and four talented graduates from 2009.

Kim Yeon - Voyage to the Light III, Stainless Steel, 50 x 100 x 20cm

From the exhibition catalogue:

Kim Yeon’s sculptures encourage moments of meditation and contemplation from the viewer. Representing streams and rivers captured in a state of stasis, tranquility and calm, the solidity of Yeon’s rocks and pebbles contrast with the soft, liquid appearance of the resin they are encased in. Shimmering in the light, the sculptures appear to float weightlessly above the floor, casting mysterious reflective shadows and illuminating the floor beneath. Kim Yeon lives and works in South Korea.

As well as including the resin sculptures from her Waterside series which viewers will recall from last year, this exhibition includes some dazzling stainless steel sculptures from her Voyage to the Light series, and the colourful Autumn Leaves.

Kim Yeon - Autumn Leaves. Resin and leaves, 48 x 80 x 5cm

The exhibition runs from 18 February – 13 March 2010 at Albemarle Gallery, 49 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4JR.

Links:

• Albemarle Gallery website

1. I wonder how much KIA had to pay for all those advertising billboards at the Australian Open men's final? #
2. Park Ji-sung scores in Man U's 3-1 rout of Arsenal. http://bit.ly/dgCYoK #
3. President Lee promotes Korean food at Davos (and pays his wife a nice compliment) http://bit.ly/9yiX5u #
4. A whole month has gone by without an events notice or website update from the KCC – not even a film screening. I wonder what's going on? #
   • Peter Corbishley: Funding?!
   • The_JONG: @lklinks KCS (NY) saw their budget slashed from the Ministry of Culture. Perhaps the same has happened over at KCC. 11:35 AM Jan 31st from Echofon in reply to lklinks
   • Daniel Martin: They mentioned a film screening on their Twitter feed less than a week ago – but nothing on the website.
   • Philip Gowman @Peter: A correspondent tells me that the NYC KCC had their budget slashed by the Ministry of Culture, so you might be right.
     @Daniel: We usually get emails announcing the films, but not this month. Well done for spotting the Tweet though. I wonder how many people went – not a film I’d heard of.
   • Peter Corbishley Still it could be an opportunity for KCC London. Less packages organised in Seoul and sent out on cultural tours, more liasion and work with local producers and others engaged with Korean culture in the UK.
5. Dear Leader’s Pleasure Squad defector tells all: “His favourite delicacy contains the reproductive organ of sharks” http://bit.ly/bW7o1d 8:18 PM Jan 28th from bit.ly
6. How To Survive A Date with A Korean American Woman: the latest viral article in the K-blogosphere. Fun. http://bit.ly/c87UKY 7:58 PM Jan 28th from bit.ly
7. Physical altercation leaves National Assemblyman Jeong Gi-yeong in hospital: Korea Beat http://bit.ly/cnAQwX 9:49 PM Jan 26th from bit.ly
8. There’s no other place in the world as lacking in musical diversity as Korea – says Jeon Do-yeon’s former agent: http://bit.ly/9eJNZO 9:46 PM Jan 26th from bit.ly
9. Robert Koehler, founder of the Marmot’s Hole, has started his own photoblog. Amazing images of Korea http://bit.ly/cyHeR8 9:44 PM Jan 26th from bit.ly
10. BR Myer’s new book: the Cleanest Race: Race, Not Socialism, Is Key to N.Korean Ideology http://bit.ly/85urt5 At Amazon: http://bit.ly/4w9IkA 11:13 PM Jan 25th from bit.ly
11. Would YOU lend to this bank? I’d rather give my money to Lehmans. http://bit.ly/7RBmj4 11:07 PM Jan 25th from bit.ly
12. That sure is one loooong interrogation for Lee Byung-hun. Sounds more arduous than filming Nom Nom Nom. http://bit.ly/6W3z24 11:06 PM Jan 25th from bit.ly
13. Warming up for the first Korean Grand Prix, in Jeollanamdo this Autumn: http://bit.ly/55QBp5 11:04 PM Jan 25th from bit.ly
14. Have fun at the annual SOAS K-Soc Club Party tomorrow night! Sounds fun. http://bit.ly/5K889u. 10:57 PM Jan 25th from bit.ly

Powered by Twitter Tools

Eunjung Shin continues her exploration of some of the works you can find in the British Museum’s Korean collection

‘At school’, from the album of scenes from daily life. Ink and colour on paper. Kim Hong-do, 19th century

Throughout the five hundred years of the Choson dynasty (1392-1910), the everyday lives of the common people were rarely depicted in painting. On the contrary, landscape painting was the preferred genre, or other paintings with themes related to Confucian ideology such as filial piety. In the Choson dynasty, paintings were objects to be read rather than to be appreciated for their visual beauty. Literati often drew an ink painting and then added their own calligraphy to the paper; they would then have a learned conversation about it with other literati. Drawing a painting was regarded as a medium of a literati’s self-cultivation.

The everyday subjects which were depicted in the paintings of Kim Hong-do (1745-1818), such as school scenes, wrestling, or tiling the roof of a house, were ignored. If a painting was to be regarded as a work of art, there had to be a poem or inscription which was written by the painter or other literati. Otherwise, the painting might be called skillful brushwork, but not art.

Even though Choson painters drew landscape painting, most of the paintings were not true Korean landscape until the 17th century. The meaning expressed in a painting was more important than whether the scene looked realistic. Early Choson paintings were largely influenced by Chinese ones. Amateur literati painters and professional court artists alike studied the style of the paintings in books from China and copied them. It was only later that they created a more simple Korean way of painting. Choson common people became the subject of their painting at the same time as real Korean landscapes. People started to be interested in scenes from daily life, and artists began exploring with a realistic and experimental approach.

In Kim Hong-do’s genre paintings, every scene was depicted as real Korean scenery. In his painting, ‘At school’ , the Choson school (Seodang) was illustrated with boys who could be educated at school. One of them is seen crying. Maybe he failed a test and was beaten as a punishment by his tutor. Other pupils are laughing and the tutor seems to be feeling sorry for him. People who look at the painting can imagine how Choson school boys were feeling at school.

Kim’s genre painting style was influenced by his teacher, Kang Se-hwang, who was famous for realistic portraits and depiction of nature. For a while, they worked together for the Choson court. Kang believed that painting should be realistic if it was to be considered as containing any of life’s truths. His point of view is also related with true-view painting.

Kim’s paintings do not have any calligraphy, even though he had been well-enough educated to write high quality poetry. He drew realistic landscape paintings and portraits, and wrote inscriptions on the paintings. His genre paintings could be shown to people at Court, who otherwise had no contact with the daily lives of their subjects, thus coming to some small understanding of the life of the common people.

‘Workmen at a forge’, from the album of scenes from daily life. Ink and colour on paper. Kim Hong-do, 19th century

Bibliography

• Portal, Jane, Korea : art and archaeology, London, 2000

Notice of a show this week at Shoreditch Town Hall.

PAUSE AND EJECT 2 is the second and last interim show from the current 2nd year Art Practice students at Goldsmiths before their final MFA exhibition together in July 2010.

Since the hugely successful first ‘Pause and Eject’ exhibition at The Rag Factory back in May 2009, the young artists have been advancing their individual practices and will be showing new works in this distinguished venue.

Featuring thirty-six international students, this exhibition will embrace artistic differences, while simultaneously exposing the comradery between those who are studying and producing work in the same educational setting.

The show promises to be a definitive marker in the development of these artists.

Venue:

Shoreditch Town Hall, 380 Old Street, London, EC1V 9LT www.shoreditchtownhall.org.uk

Times:

Opening Hourse 12-6pm daily
Closing party: Thursday 28th January 2010 6pm – 9pm followed by afterparty at The Macbeth
Live work/performances: Tuesday 26th January 2010 6pm – 8pm

Includes work by Hye Young Ku | Jin Hee Park | Eun Jung Park | Ki Woun Shin

1. Could you imagine hot Hollywood stars modeling for an air conditioner? http://bit.ly/4HCpob. Han Ye-seul & Song Seung-heon earn their fees. 11:35 PM Jan 9th from bit.ly
   • JamesTurnbull: @lklinks See what Londoner Bruce Haines says to understand why (is head of Korea’s largest ad agency, Cheil Worldwide) http://ow.ly/UE9k 11:47 PM Jan 9th from HootSuite in reply to lklinks
2. Can’t wait for ‘Snow Flower’ http://bit.ly/5WGEjZ. Jeon Ji-hyun and Zhang Ziyi. What more could you ask for? 11:32 PM Jan 9th from bit.ly
3. Catch Kim So-yong’s “Treeless Mountain” at the Renoir while you can. Simple, moving. Easier to connect with than her “In Between Days”. 11:24 PM Jan 9th from web
4. Korean National Assembly have refined tastes: Girl’s Generation named singers of the year http://bit.ly/8EnyG7. 10:49 PM Jan 9th from bit.ly
5. Mark Russell’s top 10 films of the noughties http://bit.ly/8qSrnH. I think I agree with #1. How many do you agree with? 10:43 PM Jan 9th from bit.ly
   • Kay: I agree with number one but have only seen 2 others from the list so i can’t say >_<
   • Aashish: Thank god Take Care Of My Cat got some well deserved recognition. But no Park Chan Wook is a really brave decision!
   • Philip: Yes, I must go back and watch that again. Must do my own top 10 as well.
   • Colette: I preferred Kim Ki-Duk’s Time and Dream to the The Isle. and actually think Park Chan Wook should have been there. Sympathy for Mr Vengeance is an astonishing film.
   • Philip: Haven’t seen Time or Dream yet, but I loved The Isle. I agree that Mr V would be the PCW film to include on my list, which I’m still constructing.
6. Frank Lampard scores chart-topping single in South Korea http://bit.ly/6nmuPb. WTF? Can anyone find it? 12:03 AM Jan 9th from bit.ly
   • JamesTurnbull: @lklinks Try here http://ow.ly/Updr 12:07 AM Jan 9th from HootSuite in reply to lklinks
   • @JamesTurnbull Thanks for the link James – but they’ve already taken the video down 12:12 AM Jan 9th from web in reply to JamesTurnbull. But I discovered that what the Star was talking about is a video of a song called Mister (미스터) by girl group Kara, with adulterated subtitles. Here’s an un-butchered video, featuring the girls doing their routine known as the butt dance.

     Click here to view the embedded video.

7. RT @bostonsunny: Fake NK Paintings in Wide Circulation. Korea Times. 9:44 AM Jan 7th from web
   • Philip: Good article. Did you get to meet Sun Woo-young when writing it? He was in London a couple of years ago. I assume the paintings on show in London were authentic, as he was there in person. They were originally asking around $15k for his paintings, if I remember right, but I think the prices came down when there weren’t many takers!
   • Sunny Lee: Hi Philip: Thanks for the heads-up and link. I was told that Mr Sun died from a stroke last June.
8. Obviously the news everyone’s been waiting for. Ninja Assassin (with Rain) gets theatrical release this on 22 January. 11:24 PM Jan 6th from web
9. How do K-pop fans, ripping their CDs for iPod use, overcome the general uselessness of the iTunes database for non mainstream music? 10:42 PM Jan 4th from web
   • liveJ: @lklinks I heard @Soribada supply K-pop to iTunes so it will be better. (소리바다님 말씀좀 해주셔야 할듯..)
10. First it was credit cards, now it’s iPhones: Foreigners in Korea are denied those necessities in life (HT: Marmot) http://bit.ly/4CT9Gh. 10:40 PM Jan 4th from bit.ly
11. Congratulations to @youneelondon: Best Songwriter & nominated for best female solo artist in Musicaid 2009 Song Contest http://bit.ly/5azmbo. 9:14 PM Jan 4th from bit.ly

I-MYU’s 2010 exhibition season starts with a two-parter curated by Gunwoo Shin, who is also one of the participating artists.

Ways of Seeing

Part I: Opening reception : 7th January 2010 6-8pm 7 – 27 January 2010
Heena Kim | Jihye Park | Jung-Ouk Hong | Soonhak Kwon | Tina Hage

Part II: Opening reception : 29th January 2010 6-8pm 29 January – 20 February 2010
Andreas Blank | Ayoung Kim | Gunwoo Shin | Sangyoon Yoon | Janne Malmros

Tuesday – Saturday 12-6pm or by appointment

The sense of sight that we experience is influenced on what we know and believe. We generally see things in a boundary of our sight and understanding. The term, ‘image’ (taken from John Berger’s essay ‘the way of seeing’) indicates something newly made or reproduced sight; and the artists are people who create images. All the images that artists produce embody ways of seeing. Their works provide direct evidence about the world where contemporary people exist rather than any other types of media in the world.

HEENA KIM | Dear M. C. Escher | Acrylic and collage on canvas | 122x122cm | 2009

The main theme that links these artists is that they have been making works in their own counties, from Germany, Denmark and Korea. The artists’ initial steps outside their lands are London; but no one knows what made them to reach here. They are unhinging their own histories in London where it seems more dynamic than any other cities. London is a flourishing splendor of individuals and a centre of cosmopolis. In this enormous city, these artists perceive and act upon their own ways of seeing.

Heena Kim stimulates her imagination and makes characters which are part human, part creature in her painting. Dismantling the human body and joining it with parts of non-humans such as insects and animals, she tries to tangle the lines of fragility which defines the anatomy of fantasy. Jihye Park is interested in the fantastical, the horrific and the paradoxical elements of the Fairy Tale. Combining these ingredients in a simple recipe she has made her own Fairy Tale. Her Fairy Tale focuses upon conventions of sense and the sensibility of relationships. Jung-Ouk Hong tries to express harmonies which consist of emotional qualities by using common parts of everyday life and the inherent rational values. In his works, there are three basic components: triangles, circles and squares. They compose all visual formations in the world. His works aim to enhance psychological and physical elements assembling those basic components. Soonhak Kwon finds the scenery around everyday routine as an uncanny object is a means of reaching the real, a region of sacredness, in the sense that it is impossible to reach as Jacques Lacan emphasizes. Accordingly, it is possible to taste the heaven on earth if we truly speculate in the belief of paradox, since heaven is above us but ‘Here and Now’. Tina Hage is interested in the relationship between the crowd and the individual and how they are represented in the mass media. She deploys contemporary photojournalistic and topical imagery from multi media, which Tina reflects upon by using herself repetitively to re-enact the found scenes.

SANGYOON YOON | Protem | Oil on canvas | 200x160cm | 2009

Andreas Blank’s works are about finding or reconstructing poetical images from contemporary life. They are carved from stone with a combination of different seldom stones picked up or transported from quarries/ mountains all over the world. The work is about creating a new order or developing new systems of order and organization. Ayoung Kim restages the crime with the cool logic of the detective and the gruesome fascination of the voyeur. Her cutting and pasting takes place in three dimensional space, yielding impossible spaces for the eye to penetrate. In the process of montage some of the original meaning of the images is lost, and other meanings accrue. Gunwoo Shin’s work portrays mental landscapes on the crossroad between the conscious and the unconscious, through relief style painting. He freely moves beyond the lines of reality and the world of the surreal, giving diverse artistic imaginations to realistic subject matter. Sangyoon Yoon’s works are initiated from nomadic life of globalised society. He employs unusual elements and fabricates them in his paintings which make audiences feel and understand ‘uncommon’ in the fictive circumstance. Janne Malmros uses assemblage and adaptation, combined with drawing, screen-printing and elements of photographic processes to create playful, subtle and quasi-alchemical work through a subtle awareness of materials, form and the varying poetic weights of different objects. She is interested in disappearance through appearance, repetition, perception, mimicry and transformation especially in relation to found and constructed patterns and shapes.

Links:

• I-MYU website

London-based Korean artist Francesca Cho is currently in Seoul on a working sabbatical. She has a solo show entitled “The Silence of Time” in the Pyunghwa Gallery at the Catholic Centre, by Myungdong Cathedral, 13-26 January 2010.

“The Silence of time”
 초대의 글 
자연과 인간의 조화로움을 어두움과 빛의 이미지를 통해 보여 주는 작가 조 프렌체스카의 개인전을 마련했습니다. 

조 프렌체스카의 작품은 인간의 근원적인 감정을 끌어당기는 절대적인 힘을 느끼게 해주며 그것을 자연의 아름다움으로 보여 주고 있습니다.  이번 전시는 한국의 개인 예술품 소장인들이 소장하고 있는 조의 작품들과 설치미술을 포함한  최근의  회화 작품을 함께 감상할 수 있습니다. 그 동안  런던을 위주로 유럽에서만 만날 수 있었던 그녀의 작품과 오랜만에 고국에서 갖는 두번째 개인전을 통해 작가를  직접 만나볼 수 있는 좋은 기회가 될 것입니다.

보조 큐레터, 인경 (Assistant curator / `pin Artist` In Kyung)

‘평화와 환희’ 의 메세지를 단순하고 압축된 조형언어로 전해주는 시적 서정성의 화가 조 프란체스카는 우리나라 화단에서보다는 외국 특히 영국에서 더 많이 알려진 예술가이다. 영국의 주요신문’가디언’지를 비롯해서 ‘선데이 테레그라프’지 등이 그녀를 각별히 주목할만한 문제작가로 조명한 바 있으며 또한 영국국립문화재 보호 협회 (English Heritage)에서 발간된 (Acadia in the City 2002) 의 표지에 그녀의 설치작품이 소개되어 있는것을 볼 수 있다. 또한 월간지 ‘Oremus’ (Westminster Cathedral, London)의 표지에서도 그녀의 그림을 볼수있다.
자연을 구성하고 있는 가장 기본적인 물질적 4대 원소, 즉 물, 불, 공기, 흙의 영상을 은은하고 어렴풋한 색깔의 배합을통해서 암시적으로 형상화하는 조 프란체스카의 그림세계는 가스통 바슐라르(Gaston Bachelard)가 말하는 ‘물질적 상상력’의 회화적 변용이라 할 만하다.
”깊은 슬픔을 극복한 뒤의 평화, 깊은 고통을 극복한 뒤의 환희”를 기도하는 자세로 겸허하게 그린 조 프란체스카의 그림들은 냉담한 기하학적 도형구조의 삭막함과는 다른 보다 정다운 사물과의 ‘교감’ 또는 ‘공존’ 을 감동적으로 표현하고있어 보는이의 마음을 따스하게 감싸준다.

이가림 시인, 인하대 문과대 학장

We have pleasure in inviting you to an exhibition of Francesca Cho’s recent paintings as well as her work held in private collections in Korea. The source of her inspiration is her deeply felt connection to the beauty of nature, this she portrays in shades of light and dark to express the harmony between man and nature. Francesca Cho is a UK based Korean artist widely exhibited in both Europe and the rest of the world. This will only be her second solo show in Seoul and will be a good opportunity to meet the artist in her home country. – In Kyung (Assistant Curator / ‘Pin Artist’)

Francesca Cho’s work shows touching and intimate mutual response or coexistence of emotion under her belief of peace and joy after overcoming deep turmoil and agony. These piece of her art envelope everyone with great warmth. – Lee Ka Lim Poet, Dean of Humanities, Inha University, S. Korea

FRANCESCA CHO is a UK-based Korean artist widely exhibited in the UK and abroad, including her homeland, the Republic of Korea, where she has been invited to the Pyunghwa Gallery Seoul In January 2010. Also, in April 2010 Francesca will be participating in a group exhibition at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. Transcending notions of difference, Francesca Cho’s paintings address universal ideals of spirituality and hope. Referencing landscape through atmospheric and symbolic signifiers, Cho’s paintings invoke the real world yet transcend it. Rather, the nuanced textures and bold treatment of colour map an emotive internal environment: faith, joy, safety, and an intense contemplative stillness. – Francesca Di Fraia

Links:

• Pyunghwa Gallery website
• Francesca Cho’s website

While in Korea Cho participated in “Sustain a Conversation”: a group exhibition of fellow Chelsea MA graduates from the year 2000 in the Litmus Community Space, from 12-18 December 2009.

Other participating artists were Koh Changsun (고창선), Kim Haesim (김해심), Park Jina (박진아), Park Junsik (박준식), Song Jee (송지은), Lee Jung-ah (이정아) and Chun Wonjin (천원진).

Earlier in the autumn she participated in a group exhibition entitled “Nature, Human and Art” at the Bethania Art Project Space in Gangwon-do (7 November – 6 December 2009) with fellow exhibitors Jung Tak-young, Cha Young-kyu and Hong Seung-nam. The exhibition was covered by 원주(Wonju) MBC and (강원)GTB.SBS TV.

Bethania Art Project Space, Gangwon-do

1. Top 10 Reasons We Can’t Wait to Close 2009: A gloomy look at the past 12 months in the Korea Times http://bit.ly/7kctSh. 6:44 PM Dec 22nd from bit.ly
2. Just watched Haeundae on R2 DVD. What was the fuss about? Dull, dull, dull. Maybe the domestic cut was better (17 mins longer). 9:14 PM Dec 21st from web
   
   • Colette: So you don’t recommend it!
   • Philip: Maybe the international cut just focused on the things which might appeal to an international audience, and so they edited out anything that might be remotely interesting. I was wondering how they were going to sustain the interest with just a tidal wave: so they had two or three of them. But it was quite fun when it started raining containers from this big freighter. And it’s always nice to see Uhm Jung-hwa. According to imdb the director’s cut is a full 26 minutes longer than the international version.
   • Colette: I will add it to my list of films to see which is getting longer by the moment. I am hoping edit a book on Korean cinema so will have to be more rounded in the films that I see.
   • suzyinseoul @lklinks nope, domestic cut was blah as well. my original review: http://seoulfullife.blogspot.com/2009/08/haeundae-movie-real-thing.html
3. Arang looked after us very well last night at the LKL get-together. It’s now my preferred west end eatery, replacing Myungga. 10:32 AM Dec 18th from Twitter Tools
   • Kay: I had a fab time – was so good to chat to everyone and actually have them know what I was talking about!!
   • Dazza: actually, I didn’t know what you were talking about! sorry
   • Alud: I got my dates confused, sorry!
   • Philip: Hi Kay – sorry I didn’t get round to posting your album choices last night. Whisky on top of wine and makgeolli was not a recipe for editing. It will be up Saturday morning
   • Kay Hoddy: ahaha that’s ok ^^
   • Eunjung: thank you Philip. and sorry for missing the exhibition. jst I slept too much.
   • Alice: Arang is the best!
   • Philip: The only place I’ve come across in Central London where they bring the kimchi for free
4. Robert Neff’s articles in the Jeju Weekly are always worth a read – but easier to find in his cross-posts chez Marmot http://bit.ly/4yehYR. 10:23 PM Dec 16th from bit.ly
5. Song Il-gon, always poetic, documents Los Coreanos – the Korean diaspora in Cuba – in his first feature documentary, Dance of Time. Let’s hope it makes it to subtitled DVD soon. http://bit.ly/85zV2A. 10:08 PM Dec 16th from bit.ly
6. Joongang picture of the day: Sardine Santa at the COEX Aquarium http://bit.ly/6oB8hS. 11:15 PM Dec 15th from bit.ly
7. Piles of Piles in Pusan: Korea’s most common operation (more common than plastic surgery?) http://bit.ly/7×1zc7. 11:12 PM Dec 15th from bit.ly
8. Congratulations to Alice on winning the essay contest! 5:39 PM Dec 15th from Twitter Tools
9. Amazing photo of thousands of ducks at Dongrim Reservoir in Gochang, N. Jeolla Province: http://bit.ly/7yTdFP. 8:29 PM Dec 13th from bit.ly
10. For those who like their films miserable and depressing, there’s a boxed set of Yu Hyun-mok coming very soon: http://tinyurl.com/ye64a3c. 5:49 PM Dec 13th from web
11. Lee Byung-hun Sued for Breach of Marriage Promise: Girls, don’t believe what a chap says in order to have his way with you. http://bit.ly/5hJbAm. 3:11 PM Dec 13th from bit.ly
    • Michael Breen in the Korea Times gives an update: she was given a nice flat in Seoul. Read more in the Korea Times here.
12. The late Choi Jin-shil, domestic violence and her advertising contract http://bit.ly/8grc6l. 3:05 PM Dec 13th from bit.ly (Yes I know this is old news)
13. Unusual Korean film documents transgender issues: ‘3xFTM’ http://bit.ly/5TLWe8. 3:01 PM Dec 13th from bit.ly
14. Jang Yoon-jung plans to do her bit to increase the birthrate http://bit.ly/8vZycN. 2:56 PM Dec 13th from bit.ly
15. Today’s Photo: December 11, 2009 – Christmas lights on the Boseong tea slopes, South Jeolla province. Beautiful. http://bit.ly/4pGDMS. 8:47 PM Dec 12th from bit.ly
16. Koreans Favour Luxury Among U.K. Brands – Rolls Royce (now German?), Burberry: http://bit.ly/8Hde7R. 8:40 PM Dec 12th from bit.ly
17. Looking forward to the get-together of LKL contributors and friends on Thursday. 8:37 PM Dec 12th from web
    • indiefulrok @lklinks Wish I could be there. Maybe next time ^^
18. Instant coffee and noodles outsell rice in supermarkets: Chosun Ilbo http://bit.ly/841tp5. 11:42 PM Dec 10th from bit.ly
19. Day trading in Derivatives, ajumma-style. FT. http://bit.ly/7FmmWd. 11:31 PM Dec 10th from bit.ly
20. Congrats to Alice, Hasan, William, Jinmi, Ben – finalists in the “Petal” essay competition: we look forward to the winning essay! 5:57 PM Dec 8th from Twitter Tools

(Twitter Tools is broken right now – this is a manual post)

Eunjung Shin continues her survey of the treasures in the Korean gallery in the British Museum

As you enter the Korean gallery in the British Museum you might easily overlook the small stone Buddha at the entrance, his face turned modestly to the ground. If you want to see his expression, you have to sit down on the floor and look up. Then, you will realize that he is smiling, though the contours of his face have sadly been eroded by the elements over the centuries. Like most Korean Buddhas, this one has a gentle facial expression. The child-like body represents the purity of the Buddha. This Buddha will listen to your devotions and not intimidate you. You can pray anything you like without fear.

The Buddha is likely to have stood on the sacred Mount Namsan in Kyongju, which was the capital of the Silla and Unified Silla kingdoms (57 BCE-935 CE). After Silla adopted Buddhism in the sixth century, local craftsmen carved a lot of stone Buddhist images in the open air on Mount Namsan because devotees wanted to have ‘earthly heaven’ in their lifetime.

A group of stone Buddhist images in Mt. Namsan

Buddhism is still a major religion in Korea, but its relative importance has declined over the centuries. When this Buddha statue was made in the seventh century, Buddhism was the dominant religion in Korea. For example, the King of Silla, Jinpyeong (r. 579-632) was given the title “father of Siddhartha” (the birth name of the Buddha). His wife was named Maya puin (the mother of Siddhartha). Many temples were built near the palaces in Kyongju.

The type of Buddhism in Korea is Mahayana (the Great Vehicle). Salvation is important in this tradition, so statues of Buddha are usually depicted with Bodhisattvas who assist mortals to achieve enlightenment. Usually a Buddha is accompanied by two Bodhisattvas.

Silla Buddha triad in 7th century, Kyongju (from Buddhist Sculpture of Korea)

Korean Buddhist images were influenced by Chinese and Indian art because many Korean monks traveled not only to China but also to India to learn the various teachings of the Buddha, and they brought Buddhist images back to Korea with them. If you look at the body of the Buddha carefully, you can see the natural depiction of his legs and robe. This is similar to the realistic depiction you find in Indian and Chinese Buddhist sculpture. The frontal view and the flaring edges of the robe are characteristics of Buddhist images in the Northern Wei dynasty (386-534), China. However the Buddha in the British Museum has more simplified drapery folds, halo and setting. Also his face is much more Korean looking than the Chinese and Indian Buddhas. Korean Buddhists could therefore pay their devotions in front of a Buddha with a gentle, familiar face.

Bibliography

1. Kim Lena, Buddhist Sculpture of Korea, Seoul, 2007
2. Pak Young-sook, Buddhist sculpture, London, 2003

Notice of an interesting exhibition put on by the Union Gallery.

19 December 2009 – 10 January 2010
UNION at the OLD POLICE STATION, 114 Amersham Street, London SE14 6LG

The exhibition will take place in the prison cells and ground floor gallery space of a now disused police station. Like the title already suggests, the meaning of the show is derived from the harsh interrogation techniques that have been officially authorized since the dramatic events of September 11, 2001. The Cold Cell is one of those six interrogation techniques; the prisoner is left to stand naked in a cell kept at 50 ˚F. The exhibition aims to address the work of Korean artists that have in some respect worked in themes that deal with isolation, estrangement and global conflict. The exhibition will showcase works by eight Korean artists who live and work in Seoul, London, and Berlin.

HAM JIN (b.1978) is known for his installation of miniature sculptures as well as his drawings and photography. His miniature works stem from his ‘childhood memory”. He works with clay that he played with while he was waiting for his mother as a young child. The small figures seem fun and playful when we see them from a distance but have on closed inspection grotesque characteristics. Ham’s work presents a portrait of modern people thrown into physical but also mental isolation.

KANG EEMYUN (b.1981) draws things between the boundaries of creation and extinction, questioning fundamental truths. Her strong and vigorous brushwork evokes the gesture of traditional Korean-oriental ink application. Kang is interested in allowing the imaginary to remain in flux between two different stages of being. Abstraction and figuration, subject and object, nature and mythology are suspended in a state of perpetual becoming and metamorphosis.

KWON SOONHAK (b.1979) has been presenting ‘Hyper-space’. At a glance, the scenes look highly realistic although a multi-view found in the photographs is the focal point of his work. By doing so, he provides to viewers an experience of virtual reality.

MOON KYUNGWON (b.1969) focuses on ‘landscapes’ in nature mixed with objects resulting from man’s interaction with his inhabited space. MOON’s work contains a political dimension that addresses a vision of the social context produced by humans and the energy they create in a specific time and space. The artist uses media technology in the same way as she works with drawing.

SEO (b.1977) assimilates Asian philosophy with the Neo-expressionism by attaching Korean traditional paper (hanji), torn with the artist’s hands, onto the surface of the canvas. She uses 500 colours hanji for her medium as if it was oil colour pigment. After painting on large canvas, Seo then starts attaching hanji densely; finally, she paints again with acrylics, representing oriental brush strokes.

SHIN YOUNGMI (b.1979) is a Korean artist, known for images of self-portraits bound by plaited hairs. In her paintings, naked women that resemble the artist herself repeatedly appear. Shin deals with her identity, and personal stories of her growing up to an individual. The works consequently remind us of the Narcissus myth. Shin’s use of pastel colors and emphasis on planes create unrealistic atmospheres, which make viewers feel like they are in a fairy tale or dream.

YEE SOOKYUNG (b.1963) works in sculpture and drawing. A ceramic vessel is broken up into fragments, it can no longer rely on its function as a useful object and thus has become obsolete and something completely other. Many artists today have considered the problem of the encounter between religion and art; she is a rare artist who creates works of the self and of the other at the same time.

YU JINYOUNG (b.1977) works’ reveal the loneliness and coldness with which people in modern society inevitably confront themselves. In other words, Yu’s work deals with the matter of isolation and individualism in a modern society. The transparent body indicates anonymity and emptiness, disguised in splendid decorations.

The show is curated by Sunhee Choi, independent curator and writer living in Paris and Jari Lager, director and owner of the Union gallery in London.

Jo Seong-hee captures Yi Chuljin and Nam Youngho in rehearsal with some stunning images. Text by the editor.

In a carefully-planned and stimulating collaboration at Roehampton, Yi Chuljin and Nam Youngho presented an evening of balances and contrasts, explicitly referencing Yin and Yang on several layers.

Yi Chuljin, in white

Most obviously, we had a male and a female performer, one dressed in white, the other in black.

Nam Youngho, in black

We had contemporary dance set alongside the traditional dance – the Seungmu – it seeks to reinterpret. And with the two traditional dances performed by Yi Chuljin, the energetic Seungmu…

Yi Chuljin rehearses the Seungmu

… originating from the Buddhist tradition was full of dramatic movements of the long, flowing sleeves in which the hands were hidden, while the Salp’uri, from the shamanistic tradition…

Yi Chuljin rehearsing the Salpuri

… was paradoxically much more restrained, requiring much more confined body movement and accurate hand gestures.

Within Nam’s dance the first half in which she wore the long sleeves traditionally worn for the Seungmu …

Nam Youngho rehearses Le Corps est un Visage

… balanced well with the second half in which more of her body was revealed …

… her arms and her long hair. Nam Youngho, who lives in France, was trained in classical and contemporary dance, and came to Korean traditional dance later in her career. She choreographed Le Corps est un Visage herself, working closely with French poet Paul Godard …

Paul Godard declaims his text

… who was commissioned to write the poem and recited the text while Nam danced. The text itself pointed to Yin and Yang contrasts …

Le corps est un visage - The body is a face (Paul Godard)

…il-elle and blanc-noir were constantly recurring motifs which stressed the counterpoint of opposites.

Another theme to be drawn out in the discussion after the performances were the calligraphic aspects – the long sleeves in the Seungmu seemed to draw characters in the air…

Yi Chuljin: calligraphy in the air

… while Nam made the reference explicit in the second half of her performance by using her long hair as a calligraphy brush:

Nam Youngho and her calligraphy brush

These shots were all taken in rehearsal. The performers needed a bit of rest and meditation before the real thing …

Yi Chuljin at rest

… after which there was a lively trilingual (Korean / French / English) discussion to bring this well-attended evening to an end. More performances will follow in France during December and Seoul next year. It is a highly recommended experience.

Yi Chuljin and Nam Youngho performed at the Michaelis Theatre, Froebel College, Roehampton University on Wednesday 2 December.

All images © Jo Seong-hee who can be contacted via her website, www.joseonghee.co.uk

Notice of the Cultural Centre’s latest exhibition.

Supervisions: UK Korean Artists
Exhibition Dates: 4 December 2009 – 6 February 2010

CHUNG Daun | CHUNG Jae Yeon | HONG Kiwon | HONG Kyu | HONG Seung-pyo | JEE Mina | KANG Sangbin | KIM A Young | KIM Hwang | KIM Hyo Myoung | LEE Kyu-seon | LEE Seong Jun | PARK Hye-Joung | PARK Hyemin | PARK Yeojoo | PARK Young Joon | SEO Jung Ju | SONG Min Jeong | YOON Sang Yoon

The British Council and the Korean Cultural Centre UK are pleased to announce Supervisions: UK Korean Artists. The exhibition attempts to capture a sense of the diversity of works produced by Korean artists and designers currently living in the UK. It presents work by nineteen individuals selected through an open call.

Although there were no conditions attached to the submission and it had no particular theme, common subjects run through the exhibition. This year sees an interest in the issue of surveillance, networks and the visioning of space and territory. With this in mind, the title Supervisions naturally emerged, as a reference to the themes of observation and examination of the world and society.

The exhibition brings to the fore the acuity of Korean designers and artists – their responsiveness to atmosphere, place and the palpable but often invisible currents that seem increasingly to define and capture the minutiae of our everyday lives.

The exhibition has been curated by Emily Butler and Ellie Smith from the Visual Arts and the Architecture, Design, Fashion teams at the British Council, and Stephanie Seungmin Kim, Korean Cultural Centre UK. A specially commissioned publication designed by THIS IS Studio will accompany the exhibition.

Korean Cultural Centre UK
Ground Floor, Grand Buildings
1-3 Strand, London WC2N 5BW
(Entrance on Northumberland Avenue)
Opening times:
Mon- Fri: 10.00 – 18.00
Sat: 11.00 – 17.00

Nearest tube: Charing Cross or Embankment
T. +44 (0) 207 004 2600
F: +44 (0) 207 004 2619
E. info@kccuk.org.uk
www.kccuk.org.uk

Darren Southcott, recently returned from a stint in Jeju-do, appreciates one of the island’s unique attractions: Jeju Stone Park

In this age of globalisation, authentic Korea may seem elusive and challenging for the visitor to find, but there are many sites which seek to preserve the nation’s cultural spirit. Jeju Island, despite heavy tourist development, has always sought to preserve this spirit and no place more so than Jeju Stone Park, in Gyorae-ri, Jocheon-eup, Jeju-do.

Jeju is in many ways a nation within a nation, set off from the mainland and encircled by the South China Sea and Pacific Ocean. Borne out of volcanic eruptions hundreds of thousands of years ago, its remoteness preserved its land, legends and culture for centuries. It is dominated by the vastness of Mt Halla at its centre and is protected as a World Natural Heritage biosphere.

The intimate relationship between Jeju and its geology is clear enough for all visitors to the island, and has also inspired a mythology drawing comparisons with the classics myths of Greece and Rome. Inspired by this history of myth, stone and spirit, the Jeju Stone Park seeks to be a physical embodiment of the mythology of Jeju Island and its people.

Cairns representing Grandmother Seolmundae and the five hundred generals

The myth of Seolmundae

In days of yore, a legendary goddess named Seolmundae, who was large enough to use Mt. Halla as her pillow, was making a cauldron of soup for her 500 sons. The mythological grandmother of Jeju must have grown quite drowsy, as she somehow toppled into the broth and perished. Returning home, her sons wondered where their mother was, but tucked into their dinner nonetheless, noting its unusually delicious taste.

The youngest son, who was always the last to eat, came to the pot and discovered his mother’s bones in the dregs at the bottom. Upon realizing what had happened he became distraught and angry with his brothers. Beside themselves with grief, the sons were petrified into stone. These stones, known as the 500 Generals, are the outcropping rocks at Yeongsil on Mt. Halla; while the youngest brother stands on Chagwi-do, forever following his elder brothers.

The spirit of this myth lives on in the very structure of the Jeju Stone Park, as its director Baek Woon-cheol explained: “Visiting the park is intended to be a journey through the mythology of the island, entering through the ear of Seolmundae, progressing through the body and exiting at the feet. It represents the journey of life and death,” He said.

An aerial view of the park reveals how Seolmundae lives on in the very structure of the park. The layout is suggestive of the goddess lying on her back looking to the sky, with entrances at the ears and exits at her hands and feet. The first monument to greet visitors as they enter is a gracious pool of shimmering water- the Sky Pond, the water of which cascades over its rim. This is the bowl of soup from which the Jeju Grandmother’s returning sons ate.

Five Hundred Generals

The spirit of stone

It is a beautiful scene and from here visitors can enter the main gallery to view the stone displays inside. The stones are every bit as beautiful as sculptural masterpieces. Baek, whose commitment was pivotal in creating the park, sees it as an endeavor to safeguard Jeju’s culture and the beauty of the earth. He explained that “the major influences behind the park are identity, culture and art. The stones contain an essence of the Jeju spirit and people, which should always be preserved.”

Visitors can choose any or all of the three courses, totaling 2.3km, the first of which represents the omnipresent Seolmundae myth. The paths lead visitors to many stone representations of the myth and guide them to the Sky Pond. This leads to a waterfall which represents the four seasons, before the exhibition hall astounds with its wealth of geological formations.

The other walks are more studious; as they are in many ways a fascinating series of pint-sized museums, housed in traditional thatched buildings. There is the feeling of wandering through a lost Jeju village. Visitors become entwined in the relationship between stone and Jeju culture, as artifacts ranging from barbells and baduk boards, to stone toilets and children’s toys, are presented all around. Finally, the thatched houses showcase Jeju life of yesteryear, with working implements such as ploughs, millstones and pots carefully displayed.

Dongjabok and Seojabok

A life’s work

Baek personally collected the 20,000 stones on display over a period of 40 years- more recently with the help of the Jeju Provincial Government. In this truly unique representation of Jeju’s dynamic history, he wished to connect the past, present and future of Jeju through the concept of stone. “On a visit to Paris I was impressed with how they went to great lengths to preserve their rich culture and I used this as inspiration to protect what was left of our culture on Jeju.” He explained.

However, it would be wrong to suggest that the Jeju Stone Park is somehow a museum of Jeju life, as Baek sees it as a living creation and of much deeper significance: “Humans cannot perceive stones moving and therefore presume they are dead, but they contain the essence of life itself, just like the earth. If we allow our culture to forget these stones we lose what keeps our culture alive. In many ways Jeju culture has already been orphaned, so our responsibility is to be its foster parents.”

This fragility of local cultures is something experienced all over the world and Baek feels that, as change is inevitable, adaption is the key to survival. “This is the true globalization of Jeju,” he suggested.

The stones of Jeju Stone Park safeguard the mythology of Seolmundae for millennia and in times of unprecedented change, one man’s painstaking work is going someway to ensure Jeju’s Grandmother will be with us far into the future.

Jeju Stone Park is open from 9a.m. daily, all year round. It closes at 5p.m. in the winter and 7p.m. during the summer. Admission is 2500W with a Jeju resident’s card and 5000W without. For further information, please visit: http://www.jejustonepark.com/eng/

The recent exhibition at Asia House, Transreal, presented two very different Korean artists side by side. There was a convenient area of overlap – both artists have produced mountain landscapes in red and white. But while one artist well-represented on these pages – Sea-hyun Lee – pursues his red landscapes with an almost obsessive single-mindedness, the other – Jin-kyung Lee – is more difficult to pin down. One recurring feature of some of the work on display was the use of pages from fire-damaged books as the canvas on which the calligraphy is executed: Lee’s studio was burnt to the ground in 2002, destroying most of her possessions and her artwork – a traumatic experience which has resonated in some of her subsequent work.

But on a happier note, she confessed ^[1] to being guided more by ideas that might occur to her during a party rather than a long-term programme. But her versatility means that there is something for everyone to enjoy. From whimsical line drawings via calligraphy to folk painting or abstract mountain scenery, there are lots of well-executed ideas, but maybe nothing which identifies a theme or a style which is uniquely hers.

Transreal was at Asia House, 29 September – 17 October 2009. A few gallery shots of Lee Jin-kyung’s works are appended below.

1. In the artist discussion at Asia House on 15 October

News of an upcoming group exhibition at Sesame Art, including the work of two Korean artists.

We are pleased to announce Wunderkammer, the Chamber of Discoveries, our Christmas exhibition bringing together exciting artists from across the world in an exhibition full of diversity and discovery.

Following last year’s Christmas garden, the Wunderkammer focuses on the idea of the domestic room as a place for collecting and displaying, and of bringing diverse influences together. Upcoming works include:

Yoo Junghyun: Face 23 (Acrylic on canvas)

• The House in the painting, the painting in the house (above) by Sun Young Byun
• Faces by Yoo Junghyun
• Paper installation box by Marifer Barrero
• Contemporary King & Queen Vessels by Claire Partington
• A car bonnet portrait by Matthew Small
• New work by Jon Braley

We will open the show on Thursday 3 December from 6:30 – 8:30, with cakes, drinks and possibly some surprises. Please RSVP to join in – we look forward to seeing you there.

Sesame Gallery
354 Upper St – Islington – London N1 0PD
T: 020 7226 3300 | F: 020 7226 7231 | e: info@sesameart.com
www.sesameart.com
Opening Times: Tue – Sat 11 – 6:30 or by appt