"Viewing in Darkness" Theme Runs Until October 20
Held at 4 Main Locations Including Busan Museum of Modern Art
The 2024 Busan Biennale officially opened on the 17th, embarking on a two-month-long journey.
Exterior view of the Busan Museum of Modern Art, the exhibition hall for the 2024 Busan Biennale. [Photo by Busan Biennale]
Following the opening ceremony held on the 16th at the outdoor special stage of the Busan Museum of Modern Art in Eulsukdo, Hadan-dong, Saha-gu, Busan, the Busan Biennale Organizing Committee will showcase 349 works from 62 teams (78 artists) representing 36 countries at the Busan Museum of Modern Art, Geumgo Museum within the Busan Modern History Museum, Hanseong 1918, and Choryangjae from the 17th until October 20th.
This year’s biennale, themed "Seeing in the Dark," highlights various works that explore alternative ways of viewing the world amid chaos and seek new directions. Notably, many works by artists from Third World continents, including the Middle East regions such as Palestine and Iran, as well as African regions like Jamaica, Senegal, and C?te d'Ivoire, attract attention. The participation of artists with unique backgrounds such as doctors, writers, teachers, DJs, instrument makers, and religious figures is also a noteworthy aspect.
Co-exhibition directors Vera May and Philippe Pierrot explained the theme of this biennale as "starting from the common foundation of the communal methods attempted by pirates and the enlightenment of Buddhist temples finding their own path."
They added, "The mingling, communication, and living of people from various cultures and backgrounds resemble the 'port city of Busan'."
2024 Busan Biennale Exhibition Hall 'Hanseong 1918' Exterior View [Photo provided by Busan Biennale]
The Busan Museum of Modern Art presents works by Jo Naeimi, Carla Arocha & Stephan Schranen, Tracey Na Koush Thompson, and Park Iso.
Jo Naeimi’s installation structure, an 8-meter-tall bamboo construction with vintage speakers attached, broadcasts new sounds and dreams for healing and growth as a radio wave remix from the museum entrance.
Carla Arocha and Stephan Schranen, exhibiting "Hornet’s Nest," unveiled one piece from their series "Predators," which depicts morally ambiguous beings such as thieves, pirates, intruders, or hornets. Hundreds of plexiglass windows absorb various external variables including lighting, reflecting and engulfing the exhibition space to create unease and tension.
The late conceptual artist Park Iso (Park Mo)’s work "Untitled (Today)," recreated based on sketches made during his lifetime, is an installation linked to two surveillance cameras installed outside the exhibition hall and a projector inside. Operating from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., it tracks the sun’s movement path. The real-time image of the sun slowly moving across the plywood from end to end throughout the day acts like a spotlight, prompting reflection on what we observe, ignore, and how we construct life.
Tracey Na Koush Thompson, active based in Ghana, installed a mixed piece on a pedestal combining processed forms of Ghana’s staple food waakye (rice and beans dish) and Korea’s traditional food baechu kimchi. The artist is interested in the material transformation of food through various industrial cooking processes and explores how non-artificial elements like starch and protein change through crystallization, fermentation, and polymerization. Through post-processing, he visually presents new and ambiguous images of food’s plasticity, its similarity to biological materials, and geological terrains that change in specific directions depending on environmental factors.
Hanseong 1918 serves as a specialized exhibition space for sound projects and will host a lecture and discussion session featuring artist Nika Dubrovsky for two hours starting at 10 a.m. on the 18th.
The organizing committee stated, "In this biennale’s theme, darkness does not scold and drive away darkness but immerses itself in the abyssal darkness to look beyond it in a different way and seek alternative methods and new directions," emphasizing, "It will be an opportunity to experience diverse cultures and perspectives because it is alternative and new."
In addition to the exhibition, related programs such as ▲Chatter in the Dark ▲Performance in the Dark ▲Exploration in the Dark ▲and a collaborative exhibition with Panstar Cruise traveling between Busan and Osaka will be held.
Details on artwork descriptions, program applications, and schedules can be found on the official website.
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