Walking, Wandering
2023 ACC Special Exhibition CONTEXT
Summary
- Video
- #art
- #exhibition
- #artist
- #interview
- #writer
Steps to discover and an expanded view
Were you walking today? Or were you wandering around?
We sometimes wander around while heading to the destination and sometimes get to the destination while wandering around. We continuously repeat walking and wandering during our lives. The title of 2023 ACC Special Exhibition CONTEXT <Walking, Wandering> makes you think for a moment. “Did I walk? Or did I wander around? Or was it both?” “Were my wandering steps actually leading me somewhere?’ Walk to the exhibition hall with a jumble of thoughts and curiosity. Your walk will lead you to the special exhibition <Walking, Wandering> held at ACC Creation Spaces 3 & 4.
<Walking, Wandering> is a special exhibition interpreting urban culture, the key theme of 2023 & 2024 ACC, under the topic of steps to discover and an expanded view. The exhibition tries to see walking, the action repeated every day, from a new point of view to find new meanings hidden in our footsteps. A total of 13 teams of artists share their own experience in walking and wandering through various genres of works of art including paintings, photographs, videos, installation works, and performances. In addition to seven Korean artists, artists from six different countries (Guatemala, Mexico, Indonesia, China, etc.) presented their works. Various stories of global artists from all over the world are awaiting you.
While walking or wandering past different works, you might stop in front of your favorite story without even noticing. At that moment, you will think deeply and discover your own story through the thought. The topic of the exhibition, “steps to discover and an expanded view,” is naturally discovered by the audience. Do you feel pressure that you have to learn something from exhibitions or find a message from the works of art? Forget about such a burden. Just walk wherever your feet take you and appreciate the exhibits. Then you will be able to have a far more interesting experience. It’s time to visit the exhibition with an open mind.
Walking = Encountering, discovering
〈Belong to No One Else: Dropped by A Crow〉 by Kim Bang-joo
You may think, “Why such an object is in an exhibition hall?” A smooth block of wood polished by sea water, a piece of untangled twine that lost its original color, pebbles easily found in the streets, a shrunk ball covered with dirt and dust which must have been someone’s toy once, etc. The artist who loves walking brought old objects that he could found during his walk.
He communed with the objects for a long period of time by staring, touching, tapping, and 3D scanning them. As a result, a total of 64 objects were presented at the exhibition. You can also explore the exhibits freely as you want by touching, holding, moving, and smelling them. A new story is born while the time of the object, the time of the artist, and the time of the audience overlap and are connected to each other.
This might be the reason why the title of the artwork is 〈Belong to No One Else〉. During the exhibition, the artist shows short letters about the stories he found. Find the messages of the artist at the exhibition.
#A step closer to the works of art
Interview with Bangjoo Kim
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Do you like taking walks?
My high school teacher told me, “You create works of art with your body when you are young. Walk a lot.” I think since then I've been walking a lot and thinking about my work while taking a walk. That's why I was so pleased when the ACC asked me to participate in the exhibition <Walking, Wandering>. I took a lot of walks for four months while preparing the exhibition.
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Did you experience anything interesting while taking a walk or preparing for the exhibition?
I’m terrible with directions, so my walk is just wandering around the streets. During this process, it felt like my ego, which I used to believe that it's been fixed, was seen from a new point of view, became solid, came untangled, and became loose repetitively. I brought the objects I encountered during a walk to my studio. I saw the objects from a new point of view, like looking at a stranger’s works, and witnessed that their stories were expanded. It was a totally new experience.
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Do you have anything you want to say to the audience?
I recommend them spending a long time with the exhibits and taking a walk with them. That's the reason why I set up a performance exhibition so everyone can touch and move the exhibits. The exhibits are objects you can easily find in the streets. I hope they figure out that the exhibits can become their companion while appreciating and touching such objects and taking a walk with them at the exhibition hall. I believe that can let them create their own stories.
Walking = Names and old stories
〈A Map of Written Sound〉 by Goeun Park
The artist who majored in graphic design focused on the old names of Gwangju while preparing for the exhibition <Walking, Wandering>. Her work started from her question, “Where did the names given to distinguish different spaces come from?” In her work, 〈A Map of Written Sound〉, she restores the names of old places and streets that had disappeared or forgotten. The old names of the disappeared places in Gwangju, such as Malbau, Yongjinsan Mountain, and Mulneomi Village, are newly born on the map of the digital screen. You can explore the old stories that vanished in Gwangju while taking a walk, pressing the buttons.
#A step closer to the works of art
Interview with Goeun Park
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Were you always interested in forgotten things?
One of my recent projects was also archiving disappeared modern structures of Seoul on a map. I am engaged in visual design, so I always wanted to restore disappearing, forgotten things visually. When I was offered this exhibition project, my first thought was that I wanted to collect forgotten things in Gwangju. Under this theme, I selected some road names and started my research. I happened to discover this book titled 〈The Pandect on Place Names in Korea〉 published by the Korean Language Society in the 1980s. I found some interesting place names from the book and used for my project.
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How do you want the audience to enjoy your work?
Those who spent their childhood in Gwangju for a long period of time in the 1950s or 1960s might be familiar with these names. Young people who were born in Gwangju may have never heard of the names. I believe that such place names are connected to the long history of the region. I hope that the audience has an interest in such names and listen to their stories. It will be a new experience for them.
Walking = Question: Is it equal to everyone?
<Texture of Street> by Listen to the City
Listen to the City, founded in 2009, finds issues resulting from excessive development in the modern society and looks for the solutions. People from different fields such as art, design, architecture, and film have been showing the hidden side of the world and asking questions. During the exhibition <Walking, Wandering>, Listen to the City asks unexpected questions and gives us a chance to reflect on ourselves. Is walking equal to everyone? Are streets in the city truly function as streets for persons with disabilities as well? The 15-minute long video titled <Walking, Wandering> shows that streets in the city are not a way to the world but another obstacle for persons with disabilities.
You will be moved and touched while watching the video. Listen to the City tells us,
“Urban spaces, which reflect the rule of survival of the fittest pursued by Korean people, have no time for sick or slow persons.” The 15-minute long video shows the reality of the right to transportation for persons with disabilities which you might have heard of through news.
#Other Works of Art and Artists
<Fluctuations, Brightness in the Darkness> by Dongju Kang
Paper and pencils. 30 × 30 cm. Courtesy of the artist.
<Invisible Factory Run Project- Rayon Plant Run> by Gemini Kim
archive, single-channel video, color, sound, variable size. Production supported by the ACC. Courtesy of the artist.
<Young Girl Bending Her Arms> by Leung Chi Wo + Sara Wong
single-channel video, colors, sound, 9 min, production supported by the ACC.
<Rivers of People(Ríos de gente)> by Regina José Galindo
2023 ACC Special Exhibition CONTEXT <Walking, Wandering> offers a new chance to think through a variety of artworks created under the theme of walking. Reflect on yourself walking through the different stories of the artworks. We are now here since we walked sometimes breathlessly, sometimes slowly, and sometimes not knowing where we are going. Once you leave the exhibition hall, you may be more conscious of or focus more on your walk.
We hope that your footsteps lead you to a better direction and a brighter future. 2023 ACC Special Exhibition CONTEXT <Walking, Wandering> is held at ACC Creation Spaces 3 & 4 from Apr. 27 (Thu) to Sep. 3, (Sun), 2023.
2023 ACC CONTEXT <Walking, Wandering>
- Date
- Apr. 27 (Thu.) – Sep. 3 (Sun), 2023
- Time
- (Tue–Sun) 10 AM – 6 PM
(Wed & Sat) 10 AM – 8 PM
*Closed on Mondays
- Place
- ACC Creation Spaces 3 & 4
- Price
- Free
- Ticket
- Free admission
Curator Lee Ju-yeon / Asia Culture Center Planned <Walking, Wandering>
“Although the works of art of different topics were created under the same theme of walking, they have a wide range of layers. You don't have to pay attention to all of the stories. I hope you encounter a special artwork meaningful to you and recall it when you walk in the street, which will give you a new experience.”
ACC WebsiteVisit the website of the ACC.
- by
- Yoo Yeon-hui (heyjeje@naver.com)
- Photo
- ACC
