Reviving Pansori Spirit in a Soundscape of the 21st Century

Courtesy of Gwangju Biennale Foundation

The 15th Gwangju Biennale, titled "Pansori, a soundscape of the 21st century," scheduled to take place on September 7th, aims to showcase the complexity of contemporary society through the participation of 73 artists from 30 countries. The biennale seeks to explore the contemporary space creatively by inviting artists to engage with various unseen life forms and respond to them, ultimately aiming to revive the spirit of Pansori.

Amid seemingly unrelated topics such as border conflicts, anti-immigration barriers, isolation, social distancing, and segregation policies lies a common denominator: the spatial and political organization of space. Climate change's significant effects, including carbon dioxide emissions, urbanization, desertification, immigration, deforestation, and habitat destruction, interconnect to form a new world map and a new topological system.
 

▲ Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Hall when The 14th Gwangju Biennale “soft and weak like water” was held / Courtesy of Gwangju Biennale Foundation

"Pansori, a soundscape of the 21st century" functions as an opera-like exhibition encompassing all living spaces, from individual residences to the planet Earth. Rooted in the 17th century Korean Peninsula, Pansori demonstrates the relationship between sound and space, signifying the "voice of the people" or the "voice of the subaltern."

Art serves as a platform to rethink our "relational space," shared by humans, machines, animals, spirits, and organic life forms. The exhibition aims to address spatial issues by reproducing the impacts of industrialization on natural ecosystems and contemporary urban landscapes filled with human traces.

▲ 15th Gwangju Biennale Poster / Courtesy of Gwangju Biennale

Some artists engage in dialogues with various life forms beyond humans, including machines, animals, spirits, and bacteria, while others explore the universe's scale by inventing modern shamanic beliefs. The exhibition is designed as an opera that allows direct immersion, ranging from densely populated areas to desolate landscapes.

The exhibition features three types of sound acting as spatial symbols: the Larsen effect, polyphony, and the primordial sound. The Larsen effect section deals with feedback effects, portraying a densely populated space where everything becomes interconnected. The polyphony section showcases works by artists focusing on a multifaceted worldview. In the primordial sound section, artists explore the non-human world and the molecular and cosmic levels of existence.

In addition to the Gwangju Biennale exhibition hall, the historic district of Yangrim-dong in Gwangju is utilized as an external exhibition space. The "Sound Forest" exhibition in Yangrim-dong suggests the possibility of coexistence and solidarity within the environment of everyday life.

▲ Nicolas Bourriaud / Courtesy of GwangJu biennaleUnder the artistic direction of Nicolas Bourriaud, the 15th Gwangju Biennale, held from September 7th to December 1st, includes various programs alongside the main exhibition.

The opening ceremony on September 6th features an opera performed by the band WeMu, collaborating with Han Kang, an artist based in Seoul, who has composed lyrics for the occasion. Additionally, a two-day academic symposium will be held at the National Asian Culture Center to examine global issues across various layers, including space, sound, and technology, inviting theorists and creators from around the world.

The video essay "Learning from Pansori," compressing the theme and narrative of this year's Gwangju Biennale program, will be premiered during the opening ceremony of the 30th-anniversary commemorative exhibition "Yard: Where We Become" as part of the Venice Biennale parallel exhibition. The video, based on a scenario written by Nicolas Bourriaud, will be released online after the premiere, serving as a teaser with still cuts from some of the works.

Nicolas Bourriaud, the artistic director, remarked, "The participating artists in the 15th Gwangju Biennale include those who have been working on environmental and ecological issues," adding that visitors will experience the biennale as a combination of an opera and a film, prompting contemplation on sustainable space and the future within the exhibition environment.▲ (출처:Promotional video for The 15th Gwangju Biennale / Courtesy of Gwangju Cultural Foundation YouTube channel)

The list of artists participating in The 15th Gwangju Biennale is as follows :

Saâdane Afif, Haseeb Ahmed, Deniz Aktaş , Noel W. Anderson, Andrius Arutiunian, Kevin Beasley, Wendimagegn Belete, Bianca Bondi, Dora Budor, Peter Buggenhout, Angela Bulloch, Alex Cerveny, Cheng Xinhao, Choi Haneyl, Gaëlle Choisne, Anna Conway, Binta Diaw, John Dowell, Hayden Dunham, Liam Gillick, Loris Gréaud, Matthias Groebel, Matthew Angelo Harrison, Marguerite Humeau, Agata Ingarden, Hye Joo Jun, Jun Hyoung San, Kim Hyeong Suk, Kim Jayi, YoungEun Kim, Dominique Knowles, Agnieszka Kurant, Hyewon Kwon, Netta Laufer, Brianna Leatherbury, Yein Lee, Oswaldo Maciá, Mira Mann, Cinthia Marcelle, Vladislav Markov, Beaux Mendes, Myriam Mihindou, Na Mira, Saadia Mirza, David Noonan , Katja Novitskova, Josèfa Ntjam, Emeka Ogboh, Frida Orupabo, Lydia Ourahmane, Mimi Park, Philippe Parreno, Amol K. Patil, Harrison Pearce, Lucy Raven, Tabita Rezaire, Marina Rheingantz, Marina Rosenfeld, Max Hooper Schneider, Franck Scurti, Soomin Shon, Jura Shust, Marianna Simnett, Sofya Skidan, Anastasia Sosunova, Jakob Kudsk Steensen, Sung Tieu, Julian Abraham "Togar", Unmake Lab, Yuyan Wang, Ambera Wellmann, Kandis Williams, Phillip Zach

Sayart

Blue YIM, yimyoungseo1010@naver.com