PARK CHAN-KYONG

Park’s work explores the changing roles of artists in the contemporary world. His work frames modern and contemporary Korean history, engaging complex socio-political subjects including the Cold War, the conflict between the two Koreas, folk religion, and the (re)construction of history. His multi-media works contemplate Korean society, grappling with Korea’s rapid socioeconomic progress that bypassed the necessary postwar reflection and psychological healing.

Citizen’s Forest, the centerpiece of this exhibition, was inspired by the poet Kim Soo-young’s (1921–1968) work The Great Root and the painter Oh Yoon’s (1946–1986) The Lemures. Park uses works by the two celebrated cultural figures, applying their critical assessment of the zeitgeist during the advent of modern Korean identity to relevant historical events. The video captures Park’s lament over the countless nameless lives lost in the tragic chaos of Korean modern and contemporary history, including the Donghak Peasant Revolution (1894), the Korean War (1950–1953), the Gwangju Uprising (1980), and the recent Sewol Ferry Disaster (2014). Citizen’s Forest is a three-channel video consisting of images from a feature-length film script conceived by Park. These images are displayed as a panoramic installation sprawling across the exhibition space like a traditional Korean landscape scroll painting.