Negotiating Borders

Jeewi Lee, FRAKTUR (Fracture), 2018. Installation, gravel, dimensions variable. Installation view: SEXAUER Gallery, Berlin. Photo: Marcus Schneider.

Negotiating Borders

October 13, 2023 – January 27, 2024
Korean Cultural Centre Canada (KCC) and SAW, Ottawa

Opening Reception: Friday, October 13, 2023, 7 pm–midnight at SAW
Panel Discussion and Screening: Saturday, October 14, 2023, 5 pm–8 pm at KCC

Lee Bul
Chan Sook Choi
Adrian Göllner
HaeAhn Paul Kwon Kajander
ikkibawiKrrr
Kyungah Ham
Sojung Jun
Jane Jin Kaisen
Dongsei Kim
Jeewi Lee
Minouk Lim
Tobias Rehberger
Adrian Villar Rojas
Superflex
Jin-me Yoon
Kyung Jin Zoh and Hye Ryeong Cho

Curator: Sunjung Kim

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the creation of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a result of the 1953 Armistice Agreement following the Korean War, which began in 1950. During this time, the DMZ, reserved solely for army bases, has ironically become the most militarized of demilitarized zones. Due to restrictions on civilian entry, the DMZ is home to only animals and plants, aside from its military presence. Presented as part of the REAL DMZ PROJECT, an initiative begun in Cheorwon, South Korea, in 2012, Negotiating Borders is an exhibition that contemplates the various phenomena brought about by the division of South Korea and North Korea through the lens of contemporary art. In addition to commemorating the DMZ’s sense of place, its history and the meaning of the divided nation, the exhibition also seeks to ponder the future of the DMZ. The artists participating in this exhibition approach the DMZ from diverse perspectives, ranging from political and historical themes to the lives of residents of the civilian control zones developed around the DMZ over the past 70 years and other phenomena that derive from Korea’s North–South division, and attempt new explorations of the natural environment of the DMZ and its ecology as it has been built up throughout the last 70 years of national division.

The exhibition will be on view from October 13, 2023 to January 27, 2024 at the Korean Cultural Centre Canada (KCC) and SAW in Ottawa. This iteration of Negotiating Borders will feature the work of 16 Korean and international artists and collectives, including a new work by Ottawa artist Adrian Göllner, commissioned by SAW for the project.

Public Programs:

Opening Reception
Friday, October 13, 2023, 7 pm–midnight | SAW (67 Nicholas Street, Ottawa)

Panel Discussion and Screening
Saturday, October 14, 2023, 5 pm–8 pm | KCC (101-150 Elgin Street, Ottawa)

Speakers: Sunjung Kim (Seoul), Adrian Göllner (Ottawa), Dongsei Kim (New York City), Haeahn Kwon and Paul Kajander of Haeahn Paul Kwon Kajander (Darthmouth, NS) and Jin-me Yoon (Vancouver).

Screening: Adrián Villar Rojas, El momento más hermoso de la guerra (The Most Beautiful Moment of War), 2017, Single channel video, 55min 31sec

This exhibition is presented by KCC and SAW as part of the REAL DMZ PROJECT and is funded by the Traveling Korean Arts program of the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE).

SAW gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the City of Ottawa, the Government of Canada and the Ottawa Community Foundation.

For more information, visit the KCC exhibition page.

Inquiries:
Moonsun Choi, moonsunchoi@korea.kr
Jason St-Laurent, jason@saw-centre.com

Korean Cultural Centre Canada (KCC)
150 Elgin Street, Unit 101
Ottawa, Ontario K2P 1L4

SAW
67 Nicholas Street
Ottawa ON K1N 7B9