Jung Yeondoo
Just Like the Road across the Earth
November 8, 2014–February 1, 2015
Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito
Mito Arts Foundation
1-6-8 Goken-cho, Mito-shi, Ibaraki 310-0063
Japan
T (+81) (0) 29 227 8111
“I thought: hope cannot be said to exist, nor can it be said not to exist. It is just like roads across the earth. For actually the earth had no roads to begin with, but when many men pass one way, a road is made.”
From My Old Home by Lu Xuin
In November 2014, Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito will present the first major solo museum exhibition in Japan of work by Jung Yeondoo. From photography to video installation, Jung Yeondoo: Just Like the Road across the Earth will present a wide range of works following his artistic practice of engaging society by communicating with local people.
His works portray the uniqueness of life inspired by the memories and future dreams of anonymous people. The oeuvre, however, depicts not only their dreams and hopes but also the real world wherein it is not easy to realize them.
The exhibition will present his important past and recent works including Borame Dance Hall, Ordinary Paradise, Six Points and Drive in Theater. Disclosing the structure of making a film, Ordinary Paradise and Drive in Theater as well as his recent photo series “B-camera,” which feature famous scenes in old films such as The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock and Tokyo Story by Yasujiro Ozu, make the audience realize that the imaginary world in film is an extension of our real life and it is not far from our everyday life story. This can be seen especially in one of his new works Magician’s Walk, made in collaboration with Korean illusion artist Lee Eungyeol, well-known Japanese jazz pianist Makoto Ozone, Seoul National University Music and Audio Research Group, and the citizens of Mito city.
Jung was born in 1969 in Jinju. He was selected as “Artist of the Year” by the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul in 2007 and has participated in numerous international exhibitions including Venice Biennale and Shanghai Biennale. His works are in the collection of many public institutions around the world.
Jung has visited Mito city, where it was damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, several times since January 2013 and observed the change of emotion and attitude in people for two years. During his stay, he happened to meet a blind masseur, Mr. Shiratori. Although unable to see the pictures, Mr. Shiratori has been photographing his commute to work almost every day. The new works in this exhibition are based on the inspiration Jung received from the act of Mr. Shiratori. The title of the exhibition is taken from the last sentence of My Old Home by Chinese author Lu Xuin. The road is the metaphor of hope and Jung will invite the audience to explore what hope is today.
Press contact
Kaori Torii, Public Relations
cacpr [at] car.ocn.ne.jp
Related event
Symposium: “Who are next to us, now?”
Sunday, January 18, 2015, 14–17h (doors open at 13:30h)
Conference Hall, Art Tower Mito
Capacity: 60 (first-come-first-served)
*There will be an English-Japanese interpreter present
This symposium is intended to share information, problems and concerns with curators both from Korea and Japan to explore possibility for collaboration in future. The panelists are going to discuss three issues: 1) the role of female artists and curators at the time of the postfeminism era, 2) benefits and problems brought by large-scale international exhibitions, and 3) artistic interventions into society.
Panelists and commentators: Bae Myungji (Senior curator, Coreana Museum of Art Space C), Che Kyongfa (Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo), Choi Binna (Director, Casco – Office for Design, Art and Theory), Iida Shihoko (independent curator), Kubota Kenji (independent curator), Shin Boseul (Chief Curator, Total Museum of Art), Soma Chiaki (Art producer), Suh Jinsuk (Director, Alternative space LOOP), Takahashi Mizuki (Senior curator, Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito)
Organized by Mito Arts Foundation
Supported by Korea Foundation, Japan Arts Fund, Yoshino Gypsum Arts Foundation
Cooperation by Asahi Breweries, Ltd., Ibaraki Transport Service Co., Ltd., Ibaraki Auto Co., Ltd., Kyowa, Seoul University Music and Audio Research Group, Tokai Steel Inc., Recycle Park Co., Ltd.
Curated by Mizuki Takahashi (Senior Curator, Art Tower Mito Contemporary Art Center)
