Poster image of 《COSMO, ASIA, PEOPLE》 © ACC
The National Asian Culture Center (ACC)
presents a thematic exhibition 《COSMO, ASIA, PEOPLE》
on view through August 23. Through this exhibition, ACC
explores the forms and possibilities of “people” through a cosmic perspective
and Asian imagination in an era of planetary crisis.
LEE Ungno is widely known for his ink
abstraction, blending Asian calligraphic traditions with abstract painting. He
created dozens of enigmatic drawings in France between 1977 and 1979. One
particularly distinctive and recurring motif is that of a dancing figure in the
form of a bird.
With both arms fully extended into the air,
the figure captures the movement of dance. It evokes wings, suggesting not a
human but a being equipped with a beak and wings, hinting at another life-form.
The form left by the black ink unmistakably embodies the mystery of ontological
cosmology (“COSMO”), “ASIA” as a non-Western sensibility, and “PEOPLE” as a
form of existence that extends beyond the human.
《COSMO, ASIA, PEOPLE》 adopts this image by LEE Ungno as its prologue, accompanied by the
subtitle: “Reinventing People in a Planetary Age.” In an era when our very
survival is at risk and it is difficult to imagine a different future, this
exhibition adopts three symbolic keywords as its key terms to envision new
subjects who can live in the present while dreaming of alternative
possibilities. #COSMO, #ASIA, #PEOPLE.
By connecting the mystery and harmony of
cosmology, the lives of non-Western subjects, and the possibilities of “people”
beyond anthropocentric thinking, the exhibition seeks to defamiliarize the
now-familiar future and awaken new ways of imagining it.
Participating Artists: Gyeongin
Collective, Kimsooja, KIM Ah-Yeon, NAM Hwayeon, Ven. Dayeo, MIOON, Latiff
MOHIDIN, PARK Chan-kyong , Busui AJAW, Birender Kumar YADAV, AHN Bomi, AHN
Eun-Me, Yagwang, YUN Suknam, YUN Hyong-keun, LEE Ungno, LEE Inseoung, SUH
Se-ok, SO Yo Hen, JANG Boyun, Georgette CHEN, JO Haejun, John CLANG, JIN
Tae-Won & JUEN Jiin, CHEN Cheng Mei, CHEONG Soo Pieng, CHUA Mia Tee, TAN Zi
Hao, Tuguldur Yondonjamts, KAI Keijiro, Heman CHONG, Treasure Old and New
Celestial Charts
