Vasilis Papageorgiou: Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or /
Jeamin Cha: Freeze Response

From March 1 to April 28, Salzburger Kunstverein presents two new exhibitions featuring the works of Vasilis Papageorgiou and Jeamin Cha. These shows inaugurate the 2024 program, themed “Chronic Contradictions,” curated by Mirela Baciak.

Vasilis Papageorgiou: Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or
Grand Hall

The exhibition Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or invites us into a contemplation on the capitalist systems of pleasure, their role in the cyclical depletion of planetary resources, and the loop these create in relation to the need for rest and regeneration.

At its core, the exhibition navigates through two distinct discourses, as hinted at in its title. The tourism industry’s emblematic “sunseekers”—those who chase the warmth and follow the promise of endless pleasure under the sun, are juxtaposed with the idea of “dimming the sun,” which stems from the scientific discourse surrounding solar radiation management (SRM)—a geoengineering solution to cool the earth by artificially dimming the sun’s rays. Papageorgiou’s choice to punctuate the exhibition title with an additional “or” hints at a realm of possibilities beyond this dichotomy, suggesting an exploration of alternatives, or perhaps, an unresolved question into the future we are collectively authoring. It is in this speculative space that the exhibition finds its expression.

The exhibition operates with several evocative elements such as an array of metal sunbeds that host smaller sculptures such as copper-plated beach towels, a solitary flower, a drawer containing a newspaper proclaiming a “return to the stars,” among others. These sunbeds, in their deliberate composition, become the or-spaces where the light of leisure meets the shadow of tourism’s environmental impact, urging us to ponder our place between the aspiration of pleasure and the sustainability of our planet.

Jeamin Cha: Freeze Response
Studio Space

Jeamin Cha’s artistic practice compels us to search for a language that articulates pain beyond clinical terms. Central to the exhibition is her essay film “Nameless Syndrome,” an exploration of stories of the “undiagnosed”—those who suffer without proper diagnosis, often women, whose symptoms are marginalized within a capitalist medical system marked by patriarchal biases. Through both direct interviews and a reflective process of unlearning, she reveals a critical examination of how illness and its narratives are constructed and understood within a capitalist framework. The choice of a dark blue ambiance intensifies the clinical atmosphere, thereby inviting the audience to immerse themselves in the psychological landscapes of those who are asked to be patient.

Accompanying the film are a series of drawings and a performance. The drawings embody Cha’s contemplative engagement with the material and immaterial aspects of illness, and her attempt to visualize the mental states shaped by pain. The performance deepens the exploration of how our frameworks of understanding are shaped by medical vocabularies. Through recitation, Cha creates a space for connection, inviting the audience to engage with a sequence of words, as a performer repeats them in succession until their meanings evolve and undergo transformation, in search of a language that can adequately express the complexities of battling illness.

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