Kimsooja. Breathe – Zone of Zero

THE CAC MÁLAGA PRESENTS A SITE-SPECIFIC INTERVENTION BY KIMSOOJA

The Centro de Arte Contemporáneo in Málaga is pleased to present To Breathe – Zone of Zero, a solo show dedicated to Korean artist Kimsooja and curated by Fernando Francés. The exhibition features a site-specific installation in the central space entitled Lotus: Zone of Zero (2016), consisting of 708 lotus lanterns that cover the ceiling and loudspeakers playing Tibetan, Gregorian and Islamic chants. In Espacio 5, the video To Breathe – The Flags (2012) completes the show. This exhibition invites us to reflect on profound aspects of the human condition and alter our perception of the world by embracing a different cultural sensibility.

“I actually started sewing pieces, using a needle as a tool, when I prepared bed covers with my mother [...] that was the moment when I was also searching for the structure of the world—the inner structure of the world—and also searching as a painter for the structure of the surface. [...] When I was putting a needle into the silky fabric, I had a kind of exhilarating feeling [...] I felt the whole energy of the universe pass through my body and to this needle point through the fabric. I just was so struck by that fact and I thought, ‘This is it. This is the structure [for creating] I was looking for.’ [...] And that’s how my work started, from just daily life activities,” Kimsooja (b. Daegu, South Korea, 1957) explains. Kimsooja’s practice encompasses installations, performances, photographs and videos. Her work, found in international biennials, galleries and museums, strikes a harmonious balance between an aesthetic dominated by colour and minimalism, her interest in daily life and the genuine problems of the world.

For Fernando Francés, director of the CAC Málaga, Kimsooja “challenges the spectator’s conscience with her work. Influenced by Cézanne as a girl and by John Cage as a teenager, she has never considered herself a feminist; in her view, this term simplifies and limits her ideas. She rejects the idea of belonging to just one group, to a single -ism. She accepts that others may classify her as a conceptualist, globalist, feminist or minimalist, but fully embracing these labels would reduce her options for expressing the situation of women, it would pigeonhole her.”

The title of the exhibition To Breathe – Zone of Zero is an amalgam of the two works that comprise it. The installation Lotus: Zone of Zero (2016) has turned the exhibition space at the CAC Málaga into a place of contemplation and meditation. A total of 708 lotus lanterns cover the ceiling of the room, but instead of the circular mandala design used in previous presentations of this work, here they are arranged in a rectangular pattern as a minimalist tableau. Gregorian, Islamic and Tibetan chants flood the hall and wash over spectators, inviting them to turn their thoughts inwards. Although this project was conceived in 2003 in response to the Iraq War, today it is still a relevant proposal, providing a safe haven where people of different cultures and religions can come together. That zone is a place of respect, reflection, dialogue and harmony—a place of concord. This installation explores the notion of unity and totality, according to which mind and body are spiritually joined.

The artist uses the exhibition space of the CAC Málaga as a sanctuary, an isolated refuge in which to meditate or dream. She makes the building’s architectural structure one with her work. The artist invites us to experiment with our minds and activate our senses, imagination and sensory perceptions; her work appeals to body and mind in equal measure, composing a visual poem. Kimsooja achieves the maximum effect with a minimum of elements.

This is apparent in her video To Breathe – The Flags (2012), in which 246 national flags are slowly superimposed, one by one, in alphabetical order, without hierarchy or political bias, putting all nations on the same level: a visual experience in which differences and conflicts between nations can fuse and blend together as one. The piece was originally created for the 2012 London Olympics to reflect the unifying spirit of the games, although that first version only included the flags of participating countries. The flags added later represent nations which are not accepted or officially recognised by the authorities. Overlapping the flags is a gesture of understanding, of fraternity among equals, of respect for differences.

The works of Kimsooja, the most influential Korean conceptual artist active today, show a commitment to engage with the audience and inspire solidarity and respect for others by appealing to the sense of humanity we all possess

Kimsooja was born in Daegu, the third largest city in Korea, famous for its textile industry. As the daughter of an army officer, she lived in the demilitarised zone in South Korea, and her childhood was spent constantly moving with her family from city to city. The artist is keenly aware of the problematic issues of borders, otherness (the relationship between self and the other), gender inequality and nomadism. Today Kimsooja is still a nomad, constantly travelling to share her vision of the world.

During the exhibition, visitors will also be able to admire two bottaris from the collection of Carmen Riera in the show Passion II (Kimsooja, Installation of 2 Bottaris, 2005), now on display at the CAC Málaga. These bottaris are made of used fabrics, and for Kimsooja they contain the memories, desires, experiences and spirits of their former owners.

Kimsooja (b. Daegu, South Korea, 1957) is one of the most prominent Korean conceptual artists working today, internationally renowned for her installations, photographs, performances and videos. She has lived and worked in New York since 1998, and her work has been shown at museums and art centres across the globe, including the Vancouver Art Gallery (Canada), Museum Kunst Palast (Germany), Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea – PAC (Italy), Musée d’art contemporain de Lyon (France) and the MoMA (USA).