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| A grand canvas for Gwangju's role in dawn of South Korean democracy | A grand canvas for Gwangju's role in dawn of South Korean democracy |
| (12 days later) | |
| At its inception in 1995, the Gwangju Biennale's founders declared that the event owed much to the tumultuous events of May 1980. This year's biennale – overseen by six female curators from Asia and the Middle East – is no different. | At its inception in 1995, the Gwangju Biennale's founders declared that the event owed much to the tumultuous events of May 1980. This year's biennale – overseen by six female curators from Asia and the Middle East – is no different. |
| Recognising the venue's pivotal role in the dawn of South Korean democracy, there are exhibits that deal with popular resistance campaigns on its own doorstep to those of the Arab spring and the global Occupy movement. | Recognising the venue's pivotal role in the dawn of South Korean democracy, there are exhibits that deal with popular resistance campaigns on its own doorstep to those of the Arab spring and the global Occupy movement. |
| The theme of civic protest is implicit in Michael Joo's Indivisible, a collection of oil-clay reproductions of his personal effects and objects from his past that appear to hover just above ground level, but are actually suspended from a sloping roof comprising plastic police riot shields. | The theme of civic protest is implicit in Michael Joo's Indivisible, a collection of oil-clay reproductions of his personal effects and objects from his past that appear to hover just above ground level, but are actually suspended from a sloping roof comprising plastic police riot shields. |
| For a more interactive experience, Agung Kurniawan invites visitors to try on pairs of trainers, deliberately modified to make them uncomfortable, as part of his exegesis on political protest from Gwangju to Ramallah and Cairo. | For a more interactive experience, Agung Kurniawan invites visitors to try on pairs of trainers, deliberately modified to make them uncomfortable, as part of his exegesis on political protest from Gwangju to Ramallah and Cairo. |
| Tu Wei-cheng tackles Gwangju's history in installation form with his Optical Trick Museum, a combination of real and imitation antique furniture brought to life by the images and words of five people with personal experience of the uprising and its bloody aftermath. | Tu Wei-cheng tackles Gwangju's history in installation form with his Optical Trick Museum, a combination of real and imitation antique furniture brought to life by the images and words of five people with personal experience of the uprising and its bloody aftermath. |
| "Interviewing people affected by the massacre was incredibly moving," said Tu. "Their experiences are not only about Gwangju … they speak volumes for the struggle for democracy elsewhere in Asia and the rest of the world." | "Interviewing people affected by the massacre was incredibly moving," said Tu. "Their experiences are not only about Gwangju … they speak volumes for the struggle for democracy elsewhere in Asia and the rest of the world." |
| Word Projection is a reminder of China's most famous dissident, Ai Weiwei, whose presence in Gwangju was impossible due to travel restrictions imposed by the Chinese authorities. The giant slideshow, repeated daily in the square outside the main venue, draws on thousands of images to examine his thoughts on everything from art and culture to politics and food. | Word Projection is a reminder of China's most famous dissident, Ai Weiwei, whose presence in Gwangju was impossible due to travel restrictions imposed by the Chinese authorities. The giant slideshow, repeated daily in the square outside the main venue, draws on thousands of images to examine his thoughts on everything from art and culture to politics and food. |
| As with previous biennales, this year's exhibition is not confined to conventional display spaces. | As with previous biennales, this year's exhibition is not confined to conventional display spaces. |
| The vivid paintings of Vatking's World form just one exhibit to have taken up residence in vacant lots in the sprawling Daein market, where contemporary art meets the more traditional aroma of dried fish. | The vivid paintings of Vatking's World form just one exhibit to have taken up residence in vacant lots in the sprawling Daein market, where contemporary art meets the more traditional aroma of dried fish. |
| The market workers themselves, snoozing in the sun after the morning rush, are represented in murals and the cobalt-hued portraits, adorned with Hangul script, of William Andersen. | The market workers themselves, snoozing in the sun after the morning rush, are represented in murals and the cobalt-hued portraits, adorned with Hangul script, of William Andersen. |
| The upper floor of Mugak-sa temple provides a vast canvas for Wolfgang Laib's Unlimited Ocean. The unmistakably East Asian surroundings complement the German conceptual artist's symmetrically positioned mounds of rice, their monotony broken by five mounds of chestnut pollen that symbolise life and regeneration. | The upper floor of Mugak-sa temple provides a vast canvas for Wolfgang Laib's Unlimited Ocean. The unmistakably East Asian surroundings complement the German conceptual artist's symmetrically positioned mounds of rice, their monotony broken by five mounds of chestnut pollen that symbolise life and regeneration. |
| The space is also occupied by LED lighting installations by the South Korean artist U Sun-ok. Gentle changes in light occur every three minutes in meditative alcoves running along two sides of the room, where visitors can sit and, in the artist's words, contemplate their connection to the cosmos. | The space is also occupied by LED lighting installations by the South Korean artist U Sun-ok. Gentle changes in light occur every three minutes in meditative alcoves running along two sides of the room, where visitors can sit and, in the artist's words, contemplate their connection to the cosmos. |
| Some of the exhibits attempt to interpret memory of past subjugation and its legacy across Asia. At a time when Japan's wartime conduct on the Asian mainland is again under the spotlight, Motoyuki Shitamachi's contribution is particularly well timed. | Some of the exhibits attempt to interpret memory of past subjugation and its legacy across Asia. At a time when Japan's wartime conduct on the Asian mainland is again under the spotlight, Motoyuki Shitamachi's contribution is particularly well timed. |
| Shitamachi's photographs of torii - the vermillion and stone portals that mark Japanese Shinto shrines - were not taken in his native Japan, but in countries invaded as it sought to imposed the ill-fated "greater co-prosperity sphere" on the rest of east Asia in the first half of the 20th century. | Shitamachi's photographs of torii - the vermillion and stone portals that mark Japanese Shinto shrines - were not taken in his native Japan, but in countries invaded as it sought to imposed the ill-fated "greater co-prosperity sphere" on the rest of east Asia in the first half of the 20th century. |
| Shorn of their religious context – the shrines were dismantled after Japan's defeat in 1945 – the torii linger as a reminder of an age when democracy eluded not only the Korean peninsula, but an entire region. | Shorn of their religious context – the shrines were dismantled after Japan's defeat in 1945 – the torii linger as a reminder of an age when democracy eluded not only the Korean peninsula, but an entire region. |
| Gwangju's mayor and biennale co-founder Kang Un-tae alluded to the political significance of this year's event. By encouraging collaboration between curators from diverse backgrounds and artistic traditions, the biennale, he said, promised to be a "very democratic affair". | Gwangju's mayor and biennale co-founder Kang Un-tae alluded to the political significance of this year's event. By encouraging collaboration between curators from diverse backgrounds and artistic traditions, the biennale, he said, promised to be a "very democratic affair". |
| • The 2012 Gwangju Biennale runs until 11 November. Tickets from 14,000 won (£7.60) for a single day ticket and 30,000 won for an exhibition pass. For more information, visit www.gwangjubiennale.org. | • The 2012 Gwangju Biennale runs until 11 November. Tickets from 14,000 won (£7.60) for a single day ticket and 30,000 won for an exhibition pass. For more information, visit www.gwangjubiennale.org. |
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