Submitted on 08.09.2025 by

Polish artists at the Jeonnam International Sumuk Biennale 2025 in South Korea

półprzeźroczysta instalacja artystyczna z konturów ludzi, które stają się widoczne gdy rurki wypełni olej

Jeonnam International Ink Biennale 2025 - „Remember(me)” by Przemysław Jasielski, fot. Kuba Celej / IAM

The third edition of the Jeonnam International Sumuk Biennale will be held in 2025. In the Korean cities of Mokpo, Jindo and Haenam, all located in South Jeolla Province, artists from around the world will present works reinterpreting Sumuk – the traditions of brush and ink deeply rooted in East Asian aesthetics. For this year’s edition, the Biennale’s artistic director has invited two artists from Poland: Przemysław Jasielski and Tatiana Wolska.

Jeonnam Sumuk Biennale 2025 – reinterpretations of ink art in contemporary contexts in Korea

The Jeonnam International Sumuk Biennale is the only biennale in the world devoted to exploring East Asian identity through the contemporary language of Sumuk, or ink painting. Reinterpretations rooted in the East Asian tradition of brush and ink become a living, evolving medium for global artistic dialogue. Rather than merely continuing the tradition, the Biennale invites artists from around the world to engage with Sumuk as both a conceptual and material practice. Their work resonates with questions of memory, place, temporality and transformation, shaping a new aesthetic discourse – grounded in East Asian cultural sensibility, yet responsive to the challenges of the present day.

The 2025 edition, entitled “Neighbours in Civilization – Somewhere Over the Yellow Sea”, focuses on the maritime cultural networks of East Asia, particularly those shaped by the Yellow Sea. This body of water serves as a space for cultural exchange among a network of distinct yet interconnected centres of civilisation. By crossing the boundaries of tradition and experimentation, philosophy and materiality, the Biennale weaves past and present into a multi-layered exhibition. This edition celebrates diversity and hybridity, raising questions about the notion of the “West” and exploring how East Asia itself can be reinterpreted as a constellation of neighbours in motion.

Tatiana Wolska and Przemysław Jasielski – Polish artists at the prestigious Sumuk art biennale in Asia

As part of the Jeonnam International Sumuk Biennale, visitors will have the opportunity to experience the work of two Polish artists who, through their innovative approaches, offer fresh perspectives on the relationship between humans, technology and nature. Tatiana Wolska’s work will be presented at the Mokpo Culture & Arts Museum as part of the exhibition “New Nature and Moving Ink”, which explores global trends in ink painting – from traditional forms to dynamic, interactive and media-based works. Wolska creates organic forms from recycled materials, including plastic bottles, wood and used mattresses. Her new piece is a large-format drawing installation created in situ. It extends organically through the space, without a central point, generating tension through the density of its lines. The artist’s process-focused approach, which emphasises creation over final form, also resonates with the philosophical spirit of ink painting.

The Mokpo Indoor Gymnasium will host a large-scale installation entitled “Remember(me)” by Przemysław Jasielski. Jasielski, whose practice sits at the intersection of engineering, art and science, presents a work created using lucidography – his own method of visualising lucid dreams or hallucinations. “Remember(me)” is a retrofuturistic object that explores the cultural and social relationships between humans and machines. A hydraulic system pumps black liquid, revealing dreamlike images of factory workers inspired by archival materials from the Warsaw Passenger Car Factory (FSO), blurring the boundaries between past and future. Through the deconstruction of historical documentation on factory automation, Jasielski’s work highlights the robotic dimension of human labour, prompting reflection on human dependence on technology and artificial intelligence. The installation is part of the exhibition “Contemporary Value of Ink Art”, which examines the historical and contemporary role of ink art, with particular focus on its social significance.

A modern perspective and East Asian traditions – Polish projects in South Korea supported by the AMI

Participation in the biennale is one of the artistic initiatives promoting the Polish contemporary art scene, supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute in the Republic of Korea. Until October, the Seoul Museum of Craft Art is hosting a unique Polish-Korean edition of the exhibition “The Clothed Home” – a project that brings traditional textile crafts into the context of contemporary challenges related to climate change and architectural design. The Cheongju Craft Biennale will run until November 2025. Polish film art will be showcased in September at the Cinematheque in Seoul, with the next edition of the Polish Film Festival focusing on the work of Wojciech Jerzy Has, commemorating the 100th anniversary of his birth. In October, the Seoul Performing Arts Festival 2025 will feature a performance of “The Employees”, directed by the renowned Polish artist Łukasz Twarkowski.