netfilmmakers' blog

The korean artist Yangachi, who is exhibiting with “Surveillance Drama: Episode 1 - Purpose of Love” in Netfilmmakers’ 19.th edition, was not present in Copenhagen at the Artist Talk at the Project Room, IKK. He had to cancel his travel to Denmark, due to him being one of six finalists for the Asian Art Award. But the curator Yoonsun and the artist Byeong-Sam presented his talk on his behalf. I wish him best of luck for winning the award and here is an excerpt from his presentation:

” I am interested in the ‘potential power of virtual’. Virtuality does not explicitly show power relations and specific social orders, but it requires a wealth of imagination. On the contrary, reality does show power and orders, but it does not require a wealth of imagination. I make art work in the space between virtuality and reality.

The first work on the issues of virtuality started on the web. It was in the time when web was considered as an appropiate example of virtual space. It was natural that I chose to work in the web space. I created Yangachi Guild (2002) and E-Government (2003) Yangachi Guild takes form of a fictional shopping mall. It portrayed the South Korean society in the look of a shopping mall, and commented on that capitalism is the center of web media as well. E-Government is about surveillance system and social situations that are predominant in South Korea in the digital age.

Issues of virtuality is connected with surveillance in my work. Surveillance is a system to monitor the orders of reality, which is reinforced in virtuality. A good example is surveillance cameras in urban spaces. Work, school street, and private properties are monitored by CCTV to sustain the order. In intervene in the order of reality through surveillance camera system. I reverse engineered surveillance camera and wireless transmitter to obtain images from CCTV. And I recreate familiar scenes from movies using the surveillance system in ‘Surveillance Drama series (2005 up until now)’. Surveillance drama parodies Star Wars, King Kong, Kill Bill, 007, and questions our perspective about the surveillance system.

“Surveillance Drama” series recreate scenes from a film by using footages from suveillance cameras networked in urban space. Important scenes from popular movies such as ‘Purpose of love’. ‘King Kong’ are selected and remade. ‘Surveillance Drama: Purpose of love’ focus on the conversation between lovers, ‘Surveillance Drama: King Kong’ focus on the role of King Kong as it intervenes the orderly ways of the contemporary society. Interesting stories and the gaze of surveillance intersects in the ‘Surveillance Drama’ series. The Gaze from the surveillance, the gaxe from the dily life, and also te reverse perspective from the subject are remixed and reveals the contemporary state of surveillance.’!

View “Surveillance Drama: Episode 1 - Purpose of Love” on Netfilmmakers

Links to artist:
http://www.yangachi.org/
http://yangachi.org/blog

Link to Asia Art Award:
http://asiaartawardforum.com/english/html/award/award_01.html