Press Release
Art Sonje Center presents the exhibition Moon Kyungwon and Jeon Joonho: Seoul Weather Station. Seoul Weather Station is an exhibition that uses artistic imagination and interdisciplinary cooperation as part of a multifaceted approach to the rapid environmental changes that have come about through global weather phenomena and natural disasters.
Moon Kyungwon and Jeon Jooho, Seoul Weather Station
Art Sonje Center, Seoul (South Korea)
30.08 -20.11.2022
Historically, humankind has viewed nature simply as something to be conquered. But the environmental crises that have become visible these days—climate destruction, ravaged biodiversity, pollution, and so forth—send the clear message that the old perspective no longer is valid. Under these circumstances, art should be capable of exploring nature, the environment, and the Earth in new ways—and of suggesting different approaches that shift us away from the previous perspectives. This exhibition was conceived as a temporary “weather station” that observes issues related to our climate environment from new and varied angles, while forecasting alternative possibilities for the future.
Moon Kyungwon and Jeon Joonho form a duo of artists who have investigated the functions and roles of art in proposing imaginative alternatives for the crisis situation and rapidly changing world that humankind confronts today. For the Seoul Weather Station exhibition, they present immersive installation artwork and a participatory platform to call for a change in our thinking about climate issues and to experiment with new challenges and adventures. The title of To Build a Fire (2022), the duo’s new work, comes from a short story of the same name published in 1902 by Jack London. While London’s story used a man’s desperate battle to survive in the cold to examine human survival in the face of nature, Moon and Jeon’s work portrays the Earth’s changing face as it traces the endless trajectory of time from a nonhuman perspective. Mobile Agora: Seoul Weather Station (2022) shows both the results of Moon and Jeon’s projects with different collaborators and the process leading up to their emergence. It also presents a talk program in which experts from different fields are invited to share their research on our rapidly changing climate and global environment.
The exhibition is taking place as part of the World Weather Network (WWN) project. An association of weather stations, WWN was established by arts organizations in 28 countries, which came together to respond to the climate emergency and the global crisis of accelerating ecosystem destruction. With the Seoul Weather Station exhibition, Art Sonje Center is seeking to become a “Seoul weather station” examining the role of art and sharing alternative discourses in an era of climate crisis.
Collaborating with BKID, Com2uS, Jeong Jaeseung, Jang Younggyu, Jeong Sujong, MVRDV, RYU Junyeol, Spot/Robotics LAB (Hyundai Motor Group), Takram, workroom
Curated by Sunjung Kim (Artistic Director, Art Sonje Center), Soojin Lee (art historian), Heehyun Cho (Curator, Art Sonje Center)
Exhibition 30 August -
© ArtCatalyse International / Marika Prévosto 2022. All Rights Reserved
MOON Kyungwon & JEON Joonho, To Build a Fire, 2022, color video with lighting, sound and kinetic blinds connected by DMX program, duration: 15 min.
