Haegue Yang, Creator of a ‘Hairy Carbonous Dweller’, Wins Benesse Prize

Haegue Yang b. 1971, South Korea Follow +

South Korean artist Haegue Yang has won the 13^th Benesse Prize.

Yang was one of five artists shortlisted for the prize, which goes to a participant in the Singapore Biennale whose work shows an experimental and critical spirit and somehow relates to the theme of well-being.

The other nominees are Thailand’s Pratchaya Phinthong and Araya Rasdjamreansook, Lebanon’s Walid Raad, and Myanmar’s Sawangwongse Yawnghwe.

In addition to a cash prize of JP ¥3 million (US $20,000), Yang can either accept a commission to create an artwork for the Benesse Art Site in Naoshima, Japan, or have existing works collected there.

For the Singapore Biennale, Yang exhibited sculptures of otherworldly beings as part of her ongoing series ‘The Intermediates’, which she started in 2015. Handles on the sculptures allow them to be moved, ringing bells reminiscent of those used in spiritual rituals.

The works have the intriguing but interminable name The Hybrid Intermediates – Flourishing Electrophorus Duo (The Sonic Intermediate – Hairy Carbonous Dweller and The Randing Intermediate – Furless Uncoloured Dweller).

Haegue Yang Mesmerizing Mesh – Paper Leap and Resonating Habitat Galerie Chantal Crousel 18 October–3 December 2022
Paris

The jury said Yang had demonstrated cross-cultural knowledge and a moving regard for materiality and tradition in works expressed through a playful visual language.

‘We honour her approaches and her courage to experiment freely and continue to produce in new, surprising ways,’ they said.

Born in 1971, Haegue Yang graduated with a BFA from Seoul National University before receiving an MFA from Städelschule Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in 1999. She is a Professor of Fine Arts at the latter university, and lives in Seoul and Berlin.

Yang’s solo show Mesmerising Mesh – Paper Leap and Resonating Habitat continues at Galerie Chantal Crousel in Paris through 3 December 2022.

Established in 1995, the Benesse prize was originally awarded at the Venice Biennale, but shifted to the Singapore Biennale in 2016. Recent winners include Singapore’s Amanda Heng in 2019, Thailand’s Pannaphan Yodmanee in 2016, and Albania’s Anri Sala in 2013. —[O]

Main image: Exhibition view of Haegue Yang's The Hybrid Intermediates – Flourishing Electrophorus Duo (Sonic Intermediate – Hairy Carbonous Dweller and The Randing Intermediate – Furless Uncolored Dweller) (2022), as part of Singapore Biennale 2022.