One of Asia’s most respected art festivals, the Gwangju Biennale opened its 9th edition to the public Sep 7. Entitled “Roundtable,” and co-directed by a group of six female curators from across Asia, the exhibition includes 92 artists and groups from 44 countries. Reflecting the diverse interests of the curators, the exhibition is organized around six sub-themes: Logging In and Out of Collectivity; Re-visiting History; Transient Encounters; Intimacy, Autonomy and Anonymity; Back to the Individual Experience; and Impact of Mobility on Space and Time. Invoking as well the Korean duriban, a round table around which people gather to eat, each sub-theme is envisioned as an axis in a “roundtable” discussion that accommodates both complimentary and conflicting viewpoints. Works are installed at multiple venues in Gwangju, from the Biennale Hall to the Gwangju Museum of Art, Cinema Gwangju, Daein Market and the Mugak-sa temple. Participants from Japan are Aki Sasamoto, Maki Toshima, Motoyuki Shitamichi, Tsuyoshi Ozawa (as a member of the group Xijing Men), Hiromi Tango in collaboration with Australian Craig Walsh, and Soichiro Mitsuya in collaboration with Suhuu Goh. The senior curator at Tokyo’s Mori Art Museum, Mami Kataoka, is one of the biennale’s six co-artistic directors.
The exhibition remains on view in Gwangju through Nov 11.