Dust Clay Stone
Dust Clay Stone
Art Sonje Center, South Korea
Curated by Haeju Kim (Deputy Director, Art Sonje Center)
October 30 — December 20, 2020
DustClay Stone focuses on works that represent the complex issues of identity facedby individuals experiencing situations of migration, as well as the perceptionsthat are formed or lost in the course of such experiences. The four artists,Pia Arke, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Bouchra Khalili and Alexander Ugay, whoseworks appear in the exhibition either experienced migration due to personalreasons or historical circumstance or are still living in a situation of it.While each of them has diverse cultural backgrounds through the experience ofhaving been born in different regions of the globe and migrated to differentcontinents or countries, the artists reveal their interests in the complexidentity, the individual and collective memories, post-colonialism and allyshipin their works. The works are also inter-connected in their methods of creatingworks such as their deep exploration of the structure of languages, therepresentation of images, approaches to the archival references, etc.
Athird-generation Goryeoin (Korean diaspora who moved or were forced to move tothe former Soviet Republics in Central Asia) born in Kazakhstan, Alexander Ugay(b. 1978) makes photography and video that combine the use of digital equipmentwith 8mm and 16mm cameras made during the Soviet era. His work reveals memoriesand nostalgia as it explores interactions among history, the present situation,and future prospects. For this exhibition, he uses the disappearing medium ofVHS to capture the words from the disappearing language of “Goryeomal” – adialect of Korean spoken mainly among ethnic Koreans in Central Asia. Currentlybased in Korea, the artist also presents a new work commissioned that documentsthe physical movements of Goryeoin and Russian migrant workers in Korea.Ingrained through daily labor, their repeated movements show a complex mixtureof emotions, including monotony, meditativeness, and community anxieties.
Through these artists’ work – especially inthe photography and video mediums – the exhibition examines how language operatesas an indicator revealing perceptions that are created and lost through theexperience of migration.
