DMZpace at Korean Cultural Center Paris

KOREAN_CULTURAL_CENTER_001_DMZPACE_WEBP_130726 — Korean Cultural Center, DMZ pace, Paris, 2020

The exhibition “Negotiating Borders – Real DMZ Project” features Hybrid Space Lab’s DMZpace, a project deploying the potential of the border area as a site of both historical wounds and flourishing nature.

Exhibition DMZpace @ Korean Cultural Center, Paris, 10 September-6 November 2020

Real DMZ

Founded in 2012 by curator Kim Sunjung, director of the Gwangju Biennale Foundation and Art Sonje Center, “Real DMZ” is an ongoing contemporary art project focusing on research on the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between South and North Korea that face each other across the border on the 38th parallel. “Real DMZ Project” offers a critical perspective on the paradoxes surrounding the demilitarized zone within the Korean peninsula.

DMZpace

Hybrid Space Lab’s project DMZpace is presented at the “Negotiating Borders” exhibition of the “Real DMZ Project” at the Korean Cultural Center in Paris, featuring the work of a group of established artists from the international contemporary art scene.

The DMZpace pavilion designed by Hybrid Space Lab serves as a tool for unfolding the complex layers of the site and as an instrument for researching and processing its traumatic history.

It is also the gateway to a historical appreciation of how the region became fortuitously the ideal habitat for cranes, symbols of peace, conveying the regenerative potential of nature’s barren and conflict-ridden landscapes.

Perception Accelerator

A triangular (infra)structure as an artificial topography serves as a perception accelerator for the panoramic viewpoint of Soi-san. Now situated in the Civilian Controlled Area close to the DMZ, in ancient times Soi-san hill was a post to communicate messages through light signals. Later it overlooked Cheorwon, a city of 38.000 inhabitants in 1945, entirely destroyed during the Korean War. Due to its strategic location, Soisan accommodates a now disused US Army viewpoint.

The DMZpace pavilion is a tool for unfolding the site’s complex layers and an instrument for researching and processing its traumatic history – it is also the gateway to appreciate the story of how the region has inadvertently became the ideal habitat for cranes, symbols of peace, conveying nature’s regenerative potential of barren, conflictive landscapes.

Negotiating
Borders

An Environment both Military and Natural

The exhibition at the Korean Cultural Center presents works around the hypothetical scenario of a future era of peace, encompassing themes such as landscapes and villages, relating to both military and natural environment.

Unique and Complex Territory

Embracing this unique and complex territory, the artists confront their sensibilities and perceptions and the realities of the divided Korean peninsula.

70th Anniversary of the Korean War

Taking place within the framework of the 70th anniversary of the Korean War, the Paris exhibition offers an artistic vision linking the past, present and future of the DMZ.

Participating Artists

Kyungah HAM, Chan-Kyong PARK, Kyung jin ZOH & Hye ryeong CHO, Hybrid Space Lab (Elizabeth Sikiaridi and Frans Vogelaar), Jung heun KIM, Lee Bul, Mikael LEVIN, Joung-ki MIN, Project DMZ, Donghyuk SHIN