The Real DMZ Project 2013 explores Korean border tensions through site-specific art installations
In August 2013, The Real DMZ Project 2013: Borderline presented the works of 13 artists in Cheorwon province, situated near the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea. Curated by Sunjung Kim, the exhibition included Jesse Jones's video The Other North (2013), Koo Jeong A's boulders near the DMZ Peace & Culture Hall, sounds by Raqs Media Collective in an abandoned train station, Sean Snyder's indistinct images of Kim Jong Il's shoes, and Seung Woo Back's enlarged censored negatives in Blow Up (2001). Meanwhile, The Artsonje Center in Seoul featured The Real DMZ Project 2013: From the North, which highlighted ongoing issues like nuclear threats and family separations impacting 73,000 South Koreans. An ArtReview article in November 2013 analyzed curatorial strategies for such sites.
Key facts
- The Real DMZ Project 2013: Borderline featured 13 artists in Cheorwon province near the Korean DMZ in late August 2013
- Curator Sunjung Kim addressed unification debates despite South Korean President Park Geun-hye's hardline policies
- Jesse Jones's video The Other North (2013) reenacted a Northern Ireland conflict therapy session with Korean actors
- Koo Jeong A installed boulders with local collaborators near the DMZ Peace & Culture Hall
- Raqs Media Collective used sounds from New Delhi in a defunct train station
- Sean Snyder exhibited photos of Kim Jong Il's platform shoes sourced from the internet
- Seung Woo Back's Blow Up (2001) series enlarged censored negatives from North Korea
- The Artsonje Center in Seoul hosted a parallel exhibition, The Real DMZ Project 2013: From the North
Entities
Artists
- Jesse Jones
- Koo Jeong A
- Raqs Media Collective
- Sean Snyder
- Seung Woo Back
- Sunjung Kim
- Kim Jong Il
- Kim Jong-un
- Park Geun-hye
Institutions
- Artsonje Center
- Iron Triangle Tourist Office
- DMZ Peace & Culture Hall
- Cheorwon Peace Observatory
- ArtReview
Locations
- Seoul
- South Korea
- Cheorwon
- North Korea
- Dublin
- Ireland
- London
- United Kingdom
- New Delhi
- India
- Iraq