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Reenacting history_ Collective Actions and Everyday Gestures

  • 2017-09-22 ~ 2018-01-21
  • Gwacheon Circular Gallery 1

Exhibition Overview

Reenacting history_ Collective Actions and Everyday Gestures
PAIK Nam June, 〈Zen for Head〉 , Undated, Nam June Paik Art Center collection,
PAIK Nam June, 〈Zen for Head〉 , Undated, Nam June Paik Art Center collection,
ONO Yoko, 〈Cut Piece〉, 1965, Courtesy of the artist, © ONO Yoko
ONO Yoko, 〈Cut Piece〉, 1965, Courtesy of the artist, © ONO Yoko
ZHANG Huan, 〈Family Tree〉, 2000, M+Sigg Collection, Hong Kong. By donation © ZHANG Huan
ZHANG Huan, 〈Family Tree〉, 2000, M+Sigg Collection, Hong Kong. By donation © ZHANG Huan
Marina ABRAMOVIĆ, 〈Balkan Erotic Epic〉, 2005, Courtesy of Marina Abramović Archives and LIMA
Marina ABRAMOVIĆ, 〈Balkan Erotic Epic〉, 2005, Courtesy of Marina Abramović Archives and LIMA
Melati SURYODARMO, 〈Behind the Light〉, 2016, Courtesy of the artist
Melati SURYODARMO, 〈Behind the Light〉, 2016, Courtesy of the artist
Zero Jigen, 〈Expo’70 Destruction Joint-Struggle Group: Ritual for Anti-War Expo〉, 1969
Zero Jigen, 〈Expo’70 Destruction Joint-Struggle Group: Ritual for Anti-War Expo〉, 1969
Hi Red Center, 〈Shelter Plan〉, 1964
Hi Red Center, 〈Shelter Plan〉, 1964
SUNG Neungkyung, 〈Newspapers: From June 1〉, 1974, On, 1974, Arko Art Center collection
SUNG Neungkyung, 〈Newspapers: From June 1〉, 1974, On, 1974, Arko Art Center collection
PARK Chankyong, 〈Child Soldier〉, 2017, Courtesy of the artist
PARK Chankyong, 〈Child Soldier〉, 2017, Courtesy of the artist
KIM Sung hwan, 〈Temper Clay〉, 2012, MMCA collection, © KIM Sung Hwan
KIM Sung hwan, 〈Temper Clay〉, 2012, MMCA collection, © KIM Sung Hwan
LIM Minouk, 〈O Tannenbaum〉, 2017, Courtesy of the artist
LIM Minouk, 〈O Tannenbaum〉, 2017, Courtesy of the artist
KOIZUMI Meiro, 〈Inder Kommen Sie / It's a Comedy〉, 2012, Collection of LEE Junghee
KOIZUMI Meiro, 〈Inder Kommen Sie / It's a Comedy〉, 2012, Collection of LEE Junghee
SONG Dong, 〈Breathing〉, Tiananmen Square, 1996, M+Sigg Collection, Hong Kong. By donation
SONG Dong, 〈Breathing〉, Tiananmen Square, 1996, M+Sigg Collection, Hong Kong. By donation
AI Weiwei, 〈Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn〉, 1995, M+Sigg Collection, Hong Kong. By donation
AI Weiwei, 〈Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn〉, 1995, M+Sigg Collection, Hong Kong. By donation
Hi Red Center, 〈Cleaning Event〉, 1964(printed 2017), MMCA collection, Photo by HIRATA Minoru
Hi Red Center, 〈Cleaning Event〉, 1964(printed 2017), MMCA collection, Photo by HIRATA Minoru
Francis ALŸS, 〈Paradox of PraxisⅠ: Sometimes Making Something Leads to Nothing〉, 1997
Francis ALŸS, 〈Paradox of PraxisⅠ: Sometimes Making Something Leads to Nothing〉, 1997
Willi DORNER, 〈bodies in urban spaces〉, 2010's, Courtesy of the artist
Willi DORNER, 〈bodies in urban spaces〉, 2010's, Courtesy of the artist
Olafur ELIASSON, 〈Movement microscope〉, 2011, Courtesy of the artist and neugerriemschneider
Olafur ELIASSON, 〈Movement microscope〉, 2011, Courtesy of the artist and neugerriemschneider
ALLORA & CALZADILLA, 〈Half Mast〉, Full Mast, 2010, Courtesy of the artists and Lisson Gallery
ALLORA & CALZADILLA, 〈Half Mast〉, Full Mast, 2010, Courtesy of the artists and Lisson Gallery
NAM Hwayeon, 〈Throbbing Dance〉, 2017, Courtesy of the artist
NAM Hwayeon, 〈Throbbing Dance〉, 2017, Courtesy of the artist
Santiago SIERRA, 〈Polyurethane Sprayed on the Backs of 10 Workers〉, 2004
Santiago SIERRA, 〈Polyurethane Sprayed on the Backs of 10 Workers〉, 2004
Hito STEYERL, 〈Guards〉, 2012, Courtesy of the Artist and Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York
Hito STEYERL, 〈Guards〉, 2012, Courtesy of the Artist and Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York
Aernout MIK & Boris CHARMATZ, 〈Daytime Movements〉, 2016
Aernout MIK & Boris CHARMATZ, 〈Daytime Movements〉, 2016
Gabriella MANGANO & Silvana MANGANO, 〈There is no there〉, 2015
Gabriella MANGANO & Silvana MANGANO, 〈There is no there〉, 2015
Mika ROTTENBERG, 〈NoNoseKnows〉, 2015, Si Shang Art Museum collection, Beijing
Mika ROTTENBERG, 〈NoNoseKnows〉, 2015, Si Shang Art Museum collection, Beijing
KATO Tsubasa, 〈Pull and Raise〉, 2011, Courtesy of the artist, © KATO Tsubasa
KATO Tsubasa, 〈Pull and Raise〉, 2011, Courtesy of the artist, © KATO Tsubasa
TANAKA Koki, 〈A Piano Played by Five Pianists at Once(First Attempt)〉, 2012
TANAKA Koki, 〈A Piano Played by Five Pianists at Once(First Attempt)〉, 2012
<Murder at the Han Riverside>, 1968, Courtesy of MMCA Art Research Center
<Murder at the Han Riverside>, 1968, Courtesy of MMCA Art Research Center
WU Tien-Chang, 〈Unforgettable Lover〉, 2013, Courtesy of the artist and TKG+, Taipei, ©WU Tien-chang
WU Tien-Chang, 〈Unforgettable Lover〉, 2013, Courtesy of the artist and TKG+, Taipei, ©WU Tien-chang
Samson YOUNG, 〈Liquid Borders I〉, 2012, Living Collection, Hong Kong
Samson YOUNG, 〈Liquid Borders I〉, 2012, Living Collection, Hong Kong
Dumb Type, 〈MEMORANDUM OR VOYAGE〉, 2014, Courtesy of the artists
Dumb Type, 〈MEMORANDUM OR VOYAGE〉, 2014, Courtesy of the artists
Zbig RYBCZYNSKI, 〈Tango〉, 1980, Courtesy of the artist
Zbig RYBCZYNSKI, 〈Tango〉, 1980, Courtesy of the artist
Siobhan DAVIES & David HINTON, 〈All This Can Happen〉, 2012, Courtesy of the artist
Siobhan DAVIES & David HINTON, 〈All This Can Happen〉, 2012, Courtesy of the artist
LEE Kun-Yong, 〈The Biscuit Eating〉, 1975, MMCA Art Research Center collection, donated by the artist
LEE Kun-Yong, 〈The Biscuit Eating〉, 1975, MMCA Art Research Center collection, donated by the artist
IKEMIZU Keiichi, 〈HOMOSAPIENS: Shinsaibashi Street〉, 1965, Courtesy of the artist, ©IKEMIZU Keiichi
IKEMIZU Keiichi, 〈HOMOSAPIENS: Shinsaibashi Street〉, 1965, Courtesy of the artist, ©IKEMIZU Keiichi
Okin Collective, 〈Operation-For Something Black and Hot〉, 2012, MMCA collection
Okin Collective, 〈Operation-For Something Black and Hot〉, 2012, MMCA collection
Chim↑Pom, 〈Unendurable KI-AI 100〉, 2015, Courtesy of the artist and MUJIN-TO Production, Tokyo
Chim↑Pom, 〈Unendurable KI-AI 100〉, 2015, Courtesy of the artist and MUJIN-TO Production, Tokyo

Reenacting History is an international exhibition that focuses on how the body and gestures can, as an artistic medium, reveal social, historical, and cultural contexts and interest from the 1960s to today. The body is a place in the front line, where “I” form a relationship with others, and a contact zone through which “I” encounter various situations in the world. At the same time, it is a “storehouse of memory,” where the past is inscribed, and a “social place,” where biopolitics function through power, capital, and knowledge. Since the 1960s, many artists who sought to bring the realm of life into art and integrate the two favored the body as an artistic medium, because the body is the fundamental existence of human life from the past to the present.


Representing thirty-eight artists and collectives from Korea and abroad, this exhibition is divided into three parts, based on gestural approaches to our life stories and on artistic attitudes. Part 1, titled “Performing Collective Memory and Culture,” illuminates works that recompose historical memory and cultural heritage through gestures. This section examines actions of Korean performance artists and Japanese avant-garde groups from the 1960 and 70s and how they used gestures to respond to and resist the particular socio-political conditions of the time. Part 2, titled “Everyday Gestures, Social Choreography,” takes the perspective of “social choreography” to cast light on works after the 1960s, which brought everyday gestures into the context of art to highlight issues of reality and life. Part 3, titled “Performing Community,” introduces works that use the body to reenact the social issues of our communities that arose amidst the rise of globalization after the late 1990s, as well as collective performances that involve intimate encounters of bodies and experiment with temporary communities based on collaboration and communication.


The gestures in Reenacting History record history that language failed to write down, history that cannot be summoned by language, and the history of trauma and absence that language cannot possibly bear. For this reason, “writing down history through gestures” could be an “alternative, resistant recording of history.”


A variety of cultural programs including a series of lectures and symposiums will be held to help visitors better understand the exhibition. A lecture-performance titled 1960’s Japanese Avant-garde Art and Performance Screening×Agitation is scheduled for Saturday, September 23, 2017. The performance will feature Kato Yoshihiro, the leader of Zero Jigen, and KuroDalaiJee, an expert on Japanese avant-garde art of the 1960s, from Fukuoka Asian Art Museum. On Saturday, November 4, 2017, a symposium on the exhibition Reenacting History will be held in collaboration with the Korean Society of Aesthetics and Science of Art, illuminating the social meaning of performance from an academic perspective.



Title : Reenacting History_Collective Actions and Everyday Gestures
Period : 22. Sep. 2017 - 21. Jan. 2018
Venue : Circular Gallery 1
Artists: Marina ABRAMOVIĆ, AI Weiwei, ALLORA&CALZADILLA, Francis ALŸS,  Chim↑Pom, Siobhan DAVIES&David HINTON, Willi DORNER, Dumb Type, Olafur ELIASSON,  HIRATA Minoru,  Hi Red Center, IKEMIZU Keiichi, JONOUCHI Motoharu, KANG Kukjin·JUNG Kangja· CHUNG Chanseung,  KATO Tsubasa,  KIM Sung Hwan,  KOIZUMI Meiro,  LEE Kun-Yong, LIM Minouk, Gabriella MANGANO&Silvana MANGANO, Aernout MIK&Boris CHARMATZ,  NAM Hwayeon,  Okin Collective, ONO Yoko, PAIK Nam June, PARK Chankyong,  Mika ROTTENBERG,  Santiago SIERRA,  SONG Dong,  Hito STEYERL,  SUNG Neungkyung, Melati SURYODARMO, TANAKA Koki,  WU Tien-Chang, Samson YOUNG,  Zbig RYBCZYNSKI,  ZHANG Huan,  Zero Jigen (38 domestic and international artists)
Admission : 2,000 won
Organized by : MMCA

  • Artist
    38 domestic and international artists
  • Numbers of artworks

Related Materials

Reenacting history_ Collective Actions and Everyday Gestures_Brochure.pdf Reenacting history_ Collective Actions and Everyday Gestures_Brochure.pdf
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