Chun Kwang Young: Times Reimagined

Times Reimagined is a multidisciplinary laboratory of artist Chun Kwang Young who has been working for 30 years under the theme of the interconnectedness between living beings and the socio-ecological values of their relationships. In ecology, interconnectedness is an absolute factor for the reproduction and survival of all living things, as well as an essential for ensuring biodiversity and enhancing sustainability in any adverse conditions such as climate change. 

This project includes 40 large-scale mulberry-paper reliefs, sculptures and installations created by artist Chun and a site-specific architectural structure Hanji House designed by architect and urban planner Stefano Boeri. 

As the prime medium of Chun’s creation, hanji (Korean mulberry paper), is a champion of ecological reproduction and circulation, which endures time and re-defines the notion of life cycle through its over thousand-years durability. It was shaped by Chun into metamorphotic creatures reminiscent of living beings or spectacular scenes with historical and cultural symbolism. In particular, the paper used in Chun’s art is not mass-produced, but a handmade product originated from the mulberry tree, embodying a cultural property fermented for several hundreds of years. The artworks made by hanji that Chun collected and dismantled from second-hand old books aged for nearly 100 years are rare treasures in this digital society, foregrounding the value of paper, and the information, knowledge, wisdom as well as the memory it denotes.

In dialogue with Chun Kwang Young’s works, the Italian architect Stefano Boeri has designed the Hanji House as a site-specific commissioned architecture of this project. This foldable architectural structure was built with timber and textile membrane on soil as a practical model of “paper-tree architecture,” which can be viewed as a “light box” from a distance. The outdoor self-standing object’s design is inspired by playful and yet meditative practice of folding the paper—in an infinite number of ways. The shape recalls ancient East Asian practices of paper-folding and tangram, besides the traditional Korean and East Asian houses, based on simple geometric modularity. It is made by a simple combination of volumes: four pyramids on the top of a parallelepiped, leaving a planar surface shaped as a regular rhombus in the middle.

Inside the Hanji House, a real-time interactive art installation developed and created by media artist Calvin J. Lee transformed triangular hanji packages created by artist Chun Kwang Young into virtual form. The tranquil environment inside Hanji House offers an immersive space for visitors to unwind and explore their inner selves as if walking through the interior of Chun’s works. 

To further the discussion centring around Chun Kwang Young: Times Reimagined, an academic forum will be held on the opening day titled The Art and Built Environment in the Age of Ecological Crisis moderated by Manuela Lucà-Dazio (Executive Director of the Pritzker Architecture Foundation). Against the backdrop of human experiences of technological diversity, convenience, and utopian illusion of the future, in contrast to the rapid decline of biodiversity and staggering ecological imbalance, biologist, philosopher, artists, architect, activist, critics, and curators will be gathered to propose discussive and practical plans to respond to the current situations. 

Speakers (in alphabetical order) 
–Sam Bardaouil (Director of Hamburger Bahnhof - National Museum of Contemporary Art, Berlin)
–Stefano Boeri (Architect, Urban Planner, Milan)
–Andrew Brewerton (Professor Emeritus, Plymouth College of Art)
–Jae Chun Choe (Biologist, Distinguished Professor of EcoScience, Ewha Womans University, Seoul)
–Jean-Marie Gallais (Chief Curator and Head of Exhibitions, Centre Pompidou Metz)
–Xiangning Li (Dean and Professor at the College of Architecture and Urban Planning of Tongji University, Shanghai)
–Otobong Nkanga (Artist, Antwerp)
–Lucia Pietroiusti (Founder of General Ecology project at Serpentine, London)

The project and series events are curated by Yongwoo Lee, Manuela Lucà-Dazio and Liyin Wang. The book Times Reimagined will be published at the exhibition opening by Marsilio Editori in a 200-page colour version. Nine authors contributed their essays, including Anne Pasternak and Joan Cummins, John C. Welchman, Stefano Boeri, Anastasia Kucherova and Liyin Wang, among others.

The Boghossian Foundation is a non-profit institution in Brussel, Belgium. Created in 1992, the Foundation realizes social and educational projects around the world. In 2010, it opened Brussels’ historic Art Deco masterwork, the Villa Empain, to the public as a centre for art and dialogue between East and West. With Louma Salamé as Director, some key programs run and supported by the Boghossian Foundation include: Mondialité (curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Asad Raza), Mappa mundi, Contemporary cartographies (curated by Alfred Pacquement), Icons (curated by Henri Loyrette), Dansaekhwa in Venice (Collateral Event of the 56th Venice Biennale, curated by Yongwoo Lee).