A collective exhibition by some of South Korea's top artists has opened
at the Venice Biennale. Inspired by Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland,
'Who is Alice' takes visitors on a journey to unreal and fabulous
worlds.
Imagination, surrealism and fantasy run wild in this exhibition created
by Chuyoung Lee, the curator of Korea's National Museum of Contemporary
Art. Located in a 14th century Venetian palazzo, tucked down an alley
away from the swarm of tourists, visitors immediately feel like they
have stepped into an enchanted world. The sensation continues as they
are invited upstairs to explore an array of mixed media pieces that
provoke, inspire and amuse.
Grotesque and oneiric
"If you are looking for art with a political message, you won't find it here"
From the stunning panelled wood ceiling at the entrance hang
strange glowing lights, swinging back and forth at random, as if
possessed by some mystery force. Two rooms further, a pair of giant
wings made of severed human hands hangs down for visitors to use as a
photo backdrop - a morbid variation on the seaside cardboard cut-out
photo boards of the past. A crazed miniature merry-go-round sits in the
centre of one room, noisily contrasting with depictions of a sinister,
desolate amusement park. In another room, Bugs Bunny's skeleton hangs in
a display case - his front teeth instantly recognizable.
But many of the exhibits are joyful and sentimental. Haegue Yang's "Female Natives" look like trees made of multicoloured knitted wool, hanging light bulbs, artificial flowers and dried mushrooms. There's a montage of photographs of real people in their daily lives dissolving into photos in which they are dressed up to reflect their childhood dreams. A petrol pump attendant is transformed into a racing driver, a girl working in an ice cream parlour into an Arctic explorer. Watching the screen, Chuyoung Lee recalls that, as a little boy, he wanted to be a bus driver.
“I hope people who visit this space and see Yeon-Doo Jung's video "Bewitched" will remember their dream when they were young.”
"If you are looking for art with a political message, you won't find
it here," says Chuyoung Lee. In spite of the differences between North
and South Korea, Lee says his selection is about showcasing Korea's
creativity, not about making statements.
"Here in Venice, I wanted to show the international aspect of contemporary Korean art rather than offer a political theme." While Lee thinks that today's art audiences are familiar with contemporary Chinese and Japanese artists, he believes Korean artists are largely unknown outside their country.
"These days, many people know Korean pop culture, like Psy's Gangnam style and that kind of K-pop," says Lee. "Korean contemporary art is also very genius and creative so I would like this exhibition to be a kind of stepping stone for the international art audience to discover Korean contemporary artists and their spirit."
East meets west
Korean contemporary art is diverse
"Young Korean artists take all kinds of information and
inspiration from London, New York and many other places." Lee hopes the
exhibition will prove that there's no boundary between east and west.
"Many students go abroad to study international art; so they like to
pursue international subjects."
This explains his choice for the universally recognized story of Alice in Wonderland. But he says the character of Alice was not only intended to be the artists' inspiration. "Visitors can come here to this space for a very special kind of contemporary art experience. It's simple: Who is Alice? You (the visitor) can be an Alice."
Grotesque and oneiric
"If you are looking for art with a political message, you won't find it here"
But many of the exhibits are joyful and sentimental. Haegue Yang's "Female Natives" look like trees made of multicoloured knitted wool, hanging light bulbs, artificial flowers and dried mushrooms. There's a montage of photographs of real people in their daily lives dissolving into photos in which they are dressed up to reflect their childhood dreams. A petrol pump attendant is transformed into a racing driver, a girl working in an ice cream parlour into an Arctic explorer. Watching the screen, Chuyoung Lee recalls that, as a little boy, he wanted to be a bus driver.
“I hope people who visit this space and see Yeon-Doo Jung's video "Bewitched" will remember their dream when they were young.”
"Here in Venice, I wanted to show the international aspect of contemporary Korean art rather than offer a political theme." While Lee thinks that today's art audiences are familiar with contemporary Chinese and Japanese artists, he believes Korean artists are largely unknown outside their country.
"These days, many people know Korean pop culture, like Psy's Gangnam style and that kind of K-pop," says Lee. "Korean contemporary art is also very genius and creative so I would like this exhibition to be a kind of stepping stone for the international art audience to discover Korean contemporary artists and their spirit."
East meets west
Korean contemporary art is diverse
This explains his choice for the universally recognized story of Alice in Wonderland. But he says the character of Alice was not only intended to be the artists' inspiration. "Visitors can come here to this space for a very special kind of contemporary art experience. It's simple: Who is Alice? You (the visitor) can be an Alice."
*****
草間彌生Yayoi Kusama
這個夏天，草間彌生要帶上愛麗絲一起夢遊仙境囉~
草間彌生是日本著名的當代藝術家，作品裡面給人最鮮明的印象就是很多很多的點點圖案。
這次由她操刀插圖的《愛麗絲夢遊仙境》讓這個原本就家喻戶曉的夢幻故事，讀起來有更超脫現實的表現，喜歡這個故事或是草間大師的朋友們真的不要錯過收藏這個版本歐！
《草間彌生Ｘ愛麗絲夢遊仙境（書盒版）》http://bit.ly/18H3XOs
*圖片為原文版本
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