The Gwangju Biennale in South Korea is one of the most important international exhibitions of contemporary art. The Adam Mickiewicz Institute will once again participate in this international event. The opening of the exhibition at the Polish Pavilion, entitled “Katastematic Pleasures”, will take place on 5 September 2024 at 5 pm.
Poland at the Gwangju Biennale in South Korea
The Gwangju Biennale is a contemporary art exhibition that takes place every two years in South Korea. It is hosted by the Gwangju Biennale Foundation and the city of Gwangju. The first edition was held in September 1995. The year 2024 marks the 15th anniversary edition. Its headline is “Pansori – A soundscape of the 21st century”. Pansori is a traditional genre of Korean music, also known as Korean opera.
This year’s Gwangju Biennale (7 September – 1 December 2024) will present 31 exhibitions in national and institutional pavilions. The partners of the Polish Pavilion are the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Seoul, the City of Wrocław, the WRO Art Centre, the Leeleenam Studio and the Paju Typography Institute. The Adam Mickiewicz Institute is once again collaborating with the Gwangju Biennale – in 2021, a series of photomontages entitled “The World of Feelings and Imagination” by Zofia Rydet was presented, and in 2023, a three-day performance programme called “Postartistic Assembly” was presented for the first time at the oldest contemporary art biennale in Asia.
“Katastematic Pleasures” in the Polish Pavilion 2024
On 5 September 2024, the exhibition “Katastematic Pleasures” will open in the Polish Pavilion at the Gwangju Biennale. The project participants were: Przemysław Jasielski, Alicja Klich, Madina Mahomedova, IP Group (Dominika Kluszczyk, Bogumił Misala, Jakub Lech) and Maciej Markowski. The Polish Pavilion is curated by Paweł Janicki of the WRO Art Centre. The artists will invite us to reflect on media art, which becomes a space for the expression of emotions and a shared existence, a dialogue of cultures and a space where images of the past intertwine with experiences of the present and visions of the world to come.
The general idea of the curators is to compose the exhibition and accompanying events in such a way that they do not create a mechanism to program the audience. The individual works are full-scale universes, but together they produce an acoustic space in which they reinforce each other, guiding the audience between them. The formula of the Polish Pavilion is to be a space of renewal.
“Dream House” by Agata Ingarden in the main exhibition of Gwangju Biennale 2024
The installation “Dream House” by Agata Ingarden will be presented at the Gwangju Biennale main exhibition from 7 September 2024. The Polish artist was invited to participate in the Biennale by artistic director Nicolas Bourriaud. In the “Dream House” project, she explores the lives and stories of five characters, their experiences, dreams and expectations, around which she develops a world of multimedia sculptures and sound installations.
In her installations and films, Agata Ingarden creates objects in which she combines seemingly incompatible materials. She matches industrial metals and silicones with natural raw materials: wood, wax, sugar, oyster shells or even butterflies preserved in salt. She often enriches the visual elements with sound or video. Agata Ingarden “can feel” sound in her works, and her “Dream House” fits in with the theme of the 15th Gwangju Biennale.
“Art is no longer for me” – screen printing workshop in Gwangju
As part of the exhibition, there will be a screen printing workshop conducted by Alicja Klich titled “Art is no longer for me”, complementing the objects presented in the Polish Pavilion. Together with the author, the participants will use the screen printing technique to apply the title message in the language of their choice to the textiles they have brought (clothes, cushions or fabric bags). The workshop will be held at the Leeleenam Studio in Gwangju on 5 September 2024 at 5.30 pm, 7 September 2024 at 2 pm, 5 October at 2 pm and 6 October at 10 am.
The Polish Pavilion at the Gwangju Biennale is part of the celebration of 35 years of diplomatic relations between Poland and the Republic of Korea. A detailed cultural programme of events planned for the occasion can be found on the iam.pl website.