Taehwa River Eco Festival : TEAF21 - Ulsan
Past exhibition
Overview
"Following this year’s theme, ‘Unhidden/Unseeable’, the exhibition sets out to examine the role of visual culture in a rapidly changing state, showcasing works submitted by 12 teams from six countries—Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan, India, Canada and the United States—at Taehwagang National Garden Migratory Bird Park. During the past, the exhibition was usually held for 10 or so days, but this year, it was extended to open for 18 days. In addition, for this year’s edition of the festival, a curator and coordinator each active on the international stage were invited as cooperating curator and cooperating coordinator respectively to facilitate communication with foreign participating artists who couldn’t visit the site due to COVID-19 situations. Their roles also include utilizing on/offline platforms outside of Korea for PR purposes, which is expected to contribute in expanding the scope of the event by enriching and upgrading the exhibition. Cooperating curator Joey Lico is The Cultivist’s Global Curator and Senior Director in charge of the West Coast (of the United States) and Latin America. The ‘home’ is what the main theme of Taehwa River Eco Art Festival 2021 (TEAF21) centers on, and the festival itself is an attempt at interpreting the different and changing ways of weaving a ‘home’—be it a physical space or a mental state—as practiced by the participating artists. A home sometimes reveals its status through sheer existence, having very little to do with its use but retaining an undetermined identity. Home is something that refuses to be totalized or generalized, and may also breathe a somewhat bizarre energy in which fixation and hatred coexist. TEAF21 aims to provide an opportunity to share the many states of presence, the very moments we live in. Reflected in each exhibited piece is the artist’s understanding of ‘home’, offering at least a glimpse into the life of its creator. Furthermore, as this year’s theme contemplates on the relationship between a home and its resident—whether it’s caught up in the past, tied to significant incidents or awaiting in an undetermined future—viewers will be encouraged to take a honest and close look into each selves, the very selves that live in constant variation as required by shifting paradigms of this day and age. "
Art Director Sohee Park, Curator Jiyoon Park.
Artworks included: