The Ways of Folding Space & Flying

The Korean artistic duo Moon Kyungwon & Jeon Joonho will present a new site-specific work in the Korean Pavilion at the 56th International Art Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia. Working in collaboration since 2009, the duo has developed a critically acclaimed body of work, including the film installation News from Nowhere, which was first shown at the dOCUMENTA (13) in 2012.

The Ways of Folding Space & Flying, a new multi-channel film installation, explores an archaeological quest into human civilization that interweaves history with visions of the future as told through a future-retrospective narrative. It also alludes to the institutional structure and historic evolution of the Venice Biennale, the scale and influence of which have been acquired within a shifting socio-political landscape.

The title of the project stems from the Korean words chukjibeop and bihaengsul. Originating from Taoist practice, chukjibeop means a hypothetical method of contracting physical distance. Bihaengsul refers to a supernatural power to levitate, fly and travel across time and space. They reflect the human desire to surpass the physical and perceived barriers and structures that bind us, despite the apparent absurdity of such imaginings.

The project is part of an ongoing inquiry for Moon & Jeon to make sense of what they perceive as a fundamental function of art in our increasingly uncertain and precarious environment. Instead of trying to provide a definitive thesis, the artists propose ways of imagining the future where existing notions of art and creativity may no longer be relevant. As with the seemingly illogical and ludicrous concepts of chukjibeop and bihaengsul, for them, art is a crucial yet curiously unexplainable facet of complex human desires that compel us to imagine, dream, wonder and challenge.

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