[Program Schedule]
- April 26, 2016 (Tue.) 5 pm / Gallery 6
Music Performance: Choi Taehyun·Jowall Mirror and Corpse
Performers: Choi Taehyun·Jowall
- April 27, 2016 (Wed.) 1:30 pm - 3 pm / Multi-project Hall
Lecture & Talk “The Paranoid Zone” Panorama
Speakers: Dong Jin SEO(Sociologist), Sang Hyun BAEK(Psychoanalyst), Hyeong Joo LEE(Project director)
(Contact 02 3701 9603)
- May 11, 2016 (Wed.) 1 pm, 4 pm, 7 pm / Zone 1, Gallery 6
Performance Paranoid Paradise
Directed by Eun Ji CHO
- May 28, 2016 (Sat.) 4 pm - 5 pm / Zone 2, Gallery 6
Sound Visual Performance Cross Fade
Performers: Dalparan, Se Jin KIM
- June 18, 2016 (Sat.) 4 pm - 5 pm / Zone 3, Gallery 6
Music Ensemble Encounter (Sung Jae SON’s Saxophone - Jazz Trio)
Performers: Sung Jae SON with 2 musicians
- June 29, 2016 (Wed.) 7 pm - 8:30 pm / Multi-project Hall
Play Theatre Paranoia
Co-directed by Jin Woo KIM(Theater Company Dugonga)), Hyeong Joo LEE(Project director)
(Contact 02 3701 9603)
- July 6, 2016 (Wed.) 4 pm - 5 pm / Zone 4, Gallery 6
Sound & Dance Performance Trans-Walking
Performers: Te Hyo CHUNG, Hye Gyeong KIM
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea(MMCA) is pleased to present The Paranoid Zone, a collaborative project by a group of mid-career artists active in the fields of music, film, performance, and stage design. In recent years, the issue of “collaboration” in the visual arts has been the subject of an in-depth investigation both in theory and practice. When examining the notion of collaboration in the context of a total work of art, one can recall a sufficient number of references in the history of art, including Wagner’s Gesamtkunstwerk (a total work of art) and Schwitters’ Merzbau. In the context of the recent developments in Korean art, one is reminded of the project-based activities by small artist collectives, such as Museum, Golden Apple, and Sub Club, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The activities of these small collectives from the late 1980s are formally akin to the recent phenomenon of “collaboration” in that they exhibited a performative aspect encompassing visual arts, music, publication, events, and play culture.
The Paranoid Zone offers, through the language of today’s art practice, a facade of contemporary life that is infiltrated by the increasing presence of information sharing, open source intelligence, and collective intelligence. It is also an attempt to investigate the emotional framework behind its structuralization. Rather than providing a set of sequential arrangements or a composition of works from various artistic genres, the notion of “collaboration” in the exhibition more closely resembles the convergence of relations with an open narrative. The presence of Hyeong Joo Lee, the director of the project, was integral to the realization of The Paranoid Zone. Interestingly, Lee began her artistic career as a member of Museum, a young artist collective that represented cultural resistance and anti-cultural currents in the late 80s and early 90s. Lee, however, has maintained a unique artistic language, and, since the mid-90s, has expanded her practice as an artistic director of various genres, such as cinematography, stage design, and public art projects. As for Lee, “collaboration” is not a conceptual, pedantic “swag.” It rather concerns the fierce and harsh realities of the hands-on practice she has engaged in for a while. For The Paranoid Zone, Lee joins forces with Se Jin Kim, Dalparan, Yong Seok Park, Young Hoon Oh, Suk Mu Yun, Young Gyu Jang, Jin Young Jang, Te Hyo Chung, and Eun Ji Cho, whom she has worked with on various projects for a long time.
The Paranoid Zone explores the layers of the world of paranoia, a delusional disorder or delusion itself. A delusional disorder manifests itself most prominently in the form of conspiracy theory in today’s society, as evident in the discussions of conspiracy of financial institutions and extraterrestrial existence, and so forth. More can be said of paranoia, however. Borrowing the words from a sociologist, “A delusional disorder (or paranoia) seeks to make sense of the chaos of the world we have encountered and in turn, prompts us to obsess over a self-established belief. It is fair to say that paranoia is based on a general structure of intelligence we have sourced in order to understand the world.” People, in one way or the other, live in a world of make-believe for the desperate need to escape reality. They can be considered as one, and instead of creating a conflict among, they leave a mark on each other. The artists’ collaboration intends to explore and recreate these vestiges. The Paranoid Zone interweaves the settings and conditions for an immersive environment that stimulates the visual, auditory, and tactile senses to evoke memories and generate new experiences. The exhibition space is divided into four zones, each presenting a particular scene. At the same time, each zone is based on an open-ended narrative where consistency and disjunction intercross ad infinitum. The viewers will experience a surging psychological dissonance through their bodies that move in defiance of the familiar.
[Audience Guidelines]
- Please be cautious of the dark and narrow passages inside the gallery.
- Please do not lean on or touch installations or works of art.
- Explosive, inflammable, or volatile substances and weapons of all kind are strictly prohibited.
- Visitors with claustrophobic symptoms or psychological/physical discomfort are advised to stop the viewing.
- Please follow the guidelines provided by the security agents in the gallery.
- Children under age 13 must be accompanied by an adult.
- For safety reasons and optimum viewing conditions, the number of visitors to each zone is limited to 15.
