Curator: Byeong Sam Jeon
Invited Artists: Mika Fukumori; Haru Ji & Graham Wakefield; Jae Min Lee; Mian Sheng Lim (Leon); Haemin Kim; Kichul Kim; Pauline Oliveros, Leaf Miller, Zevin Polzin, & Zane Van Dusen; David Parker; Jin Wan Park; Dmitry Strakovsky
is an international electronic art exhibition looking upon themes of disability through creative transition of the senses. You can experience and enjoy ten fascinating interactive electronic artworks, including: a painting seen through your hand by the touch of the wind, a digital musical instrument played by facial gestures, a robot responding to your voice, a table transmitting your hand’s touch into light, a block transforming Braille into sound, a harmonic bell playing according to your heartbeat, and so on.
Just as all people have distinct figures, appearances and characteristics, that which we may call “disability” is but a difference, not a defect. This exhibition presents artworks that invite a reappraisal of disability. Visitors enjoy creative alterations of auditory, visual and tactile sensations that may cause them to question themselves; in the process, they may also re-examine bases of their social judgments. These artworks can spark revelations that break social prejudice and affirm difference.
In Korea , since the late 1990s art society has sought new themes and expressive media to address the chaotic mix of contemporary life. Similarly, science and engineering have continued to develop toward better management of advancing technology. Appropriately, electronic arts have received much attention worldwide.
However, In the last ten years, exhibitions with themes such as ‘the harmony of art and science,’ ‘interactive communication,’ and ‘game play’ have focused only on aesthetic aspects, or the novelty of the genre itself. There has been a distinct lack of deeper consideration or examination of concrete socio-political issues.
Beyond pure expression, art may also stimulate our imagination and contribute to extending our frame of thought. We hope that the exhibition may help to roll back outdated notions of ‘disability’ in society, that we may embrace our diversity and understand each other through the heart.