Unique Experiment of the Changwon Sculpture Biennale 2020– First Step is Taken Online
【 Changwon Sculpture Biennale taking a variety of experiments celebrating its 10th Anniversary
【 Adoption of online exhibition following the social distancing regime implemented by the authorities
【 A wide array of works to be showcased under the keyword of “Non-Sculpture”
A Unique Untact Journey of the Changwon Sculpture
Biennale 2020 Has Begun
On the opening day of the Changwon Sculpture Biennale 2020 (hereinafter referred to as the Changwon Sculpture Biennale), hosted by Changwon-si and organized by the Changwon Cultural Foundation, Changwon Mayor Sung-Moo Huh visited and inspected the site. Under the theme of “Non-Sculpture: Light or Flexible," the Biennale runs from September 17th until November 1st for 46 days at Seongsan Art Hall and Yongji Park (Pojeongsa). The Changwon Sculpture Biennale celebrates its 10th anniversary since the hosting of Moon Shin International Sculpture Symposium 2010 and has taken an unusual first step this year. The reason is that it is one of the few biennales in Korea that opens as scheduled without cancellation or postponement. The official opening is available on the Biennale's website (changwonbiennale.or.kr/2020) or on YouTube. Due to the level 2 social distancing measures implemented by the quarantine authorities. The Changwon Sculpture Biennale will first hold its exhibitions on online only until September 20th, and then hold exhibitions offline and online in parallel afterwards if the social distancing measures are downgraded to the level 1.
New Direction of the Changwon Sculpture Biennale in the Post-COVID19 Era
A variety of special contents will be released
sequentially for those visitors who are unable to come to the exhibition venue
in person. Those contents include: virtual reality (VR) services which will
virtually transport the viewers at home to right in the middle of the
exhibition halls, 360-degree videos of individual work - considering the fact
that the majority of the works are three dimensional, and pre-recorded guided
tours by the Artistic Director of the Biennale himself. COVID-19 pandemic has presented
the Biennale a host of challenges and pushed the organizer to explore new
directions for planning and operation. From the preparation of the sculptures
to the invitation of artists and planning of offline events had to be converted
to online and the whole process has been literally a series of
"experiments." A closer communication was required more than ever in
the process of overseas artist invitation and bringing their works to Korea. Despite
all this, this year's Biennale will welcome the works of 94 artists and 86
teams from 34 countries – largest number in the Biennale’s history. Here, it is
possible to see all the efforts put in by the Biennale team including the
curators and coordinators under the leadership of the Artist Director Sung-ho
Kim.
Exhibition Halls
This
outdoor exhibition visualizes the Biennale’s theme, “Non-Sculpture: Light or
Flexible“ by showcasing large-size outdoor installation works that move away from
the typical marriage of volume and mass of a conventional sculpture but reflect
upon the diverse dimensions of a sculpture in the discourse of ”non-sculpture“
and reinvent them for proper implementation. The exhibition takes place in a
network-like space without any rigid order of consecutive viewing, where
nature, scenery, and architecture are harmonized with the ”non-sculptural
sculptures.“
This
indoor exhibition visualizes the Biennale’s theme, “Non-Sculpture: Light or
Flexible“ by showcasing a variety of installations and deconstructive
sculptures, media sculptures, and audience-engaging sculptures. The space is
composed of a macroscopic narrative of human civilization that flows through
”Nature-Environment-Universe-Human-Technology“ along the seven Steps that
visitors follow, as well as a microscopic narrative of human’s ”Birth, Aging,
Sickness and Death.“
This
is a major solo exhibition shedding a retrospective light on a pioneering
Korean sculptor Seung-Taek Lee, who explored the depths of “experimental
non-sculptures” ever since he declared his works to be “non-sculptural” in
1980. This Special Exhibition features archives and installations that
experiment with “non-sculptural sculptures” by using straw-braided ropes,
strings, fish nets, old fabric, cloth pieces, human hair, feathers, pebbles,
and buoys as non-sculptural material.
This
Special Exhibition 2 not only showcases media sculptures but also unearths the
hidden gems of local curators. After a contest for local curators between the
ages of 20 to 45 in Gyeongnam, Busan, Ulsan and Seoul areas, the winning team
invited young Asian artists of similar age group for this Special Exhibition,
where the artists experiment with the possibility of expanding the media
sculpture, the 21st-Century-version of video sculpture, into “non-sculpture.”
In addition to the exhibitions, there are diverse programs such as public lecture series, artists’ workshops, artists’
talks, an international academic
conference,
a
domestic academic conference titled “Seung-taek
Lee: Non-Sculpture of Korea”
and many engaging community programs. Detailed schedules and information can be
found on the Changwon Sculpture Biennale website.
Changwon Mayor Sung-Moo Huh said, "I am sending my words of support to the Changwon Sculpture Biennale organizing team of the Changwon Cultural Foundation, which has been agonizing in various ways to prepare for the exhibition in a completely different format. I hope that the COVID-19 pandemic will be over soon so that many citizens can come to the Changwon Sculpture Biennale in person."
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The Changwon Sculpture Biennale 2020 officially opened its doors on September 17th, 2020. It is Korea’s one and only biennale specializing in sculptures, which is held every two years since the Moon Shin International Sculpture Symposium 2010. The works will be showcased online in accordance with the quarantine authorities' Level 2 social distance measures. The offline exhibition will start when the social distancing level is downgraded to Level 1. Works will be uploaded online sequentially
to the Biennale homepage and YouTube. *Please watch the online video (mobile viewing is recommended) |
