Mongolian artists draw on Jeju ties in local exhibition
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Mongolian artists draw on Jeju ties in local exhibition
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On the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations, 18 artists join with nature as their muse

They flew in by night, over the Gobi Desert, to an unfamiliar island. When they awoke, for the first time they saw beautiful waves and abstract lines of blue. This was the first time the Mongolian artists had seen the ocean. Inspiration for the Time and Space Nomadic Residency Program Art Exhibit was set into motion, literally. One of the artists began to dance.

“Mongolians like to do their art outdoors,” said Kim Yi Sun, the life behind the exhibit here in Jeju. Kim is a curator in Busan who applied for the residency program last year. After participating she wanted artists to have an opportunity to experience South Korea as well, Jeju specifically. She proposed the idea to Arts Council Korea and said she was surprised at how adamant they were about the suggestion. Within the year it had come to fruition.
“Too quickly … almost,” said Kim.
 
Nine Mongolian and nine Korean artists were chosen for the project. This year marks 20 years of diplomatic ties between Mongolia and South Korea.

The artists arrived with no materials. Only their minds and experience provided creative construction. Eleven days later a projection of mixed media, foreign perceptions fortified by the natural elements of the island, were put on display at Jeju Museum of Contemporary Art.

One might expect historical oil paintings, man-made tools, or even weapons from the past. However, the artists stood by the theme “Time and Space” in a more here-and-now fashion.

The exhibit begins before the museum entrance. In the amphitheater, one is greeted by a white cloth held down by Jeju rocks. In the center is a circle of horse manure trotted down by its very creator, ridden in a ritualistic dance. The art is not only the piece of cloth left on display, but also the performance that created the piece.

Mongolians have a rich history on the island; they ruled for almost 100 years. Jeju people assimilated their style of dress by wearing more leather and animal furs. Mongolian language is said to have contributed largely to the Jeju dialect as well. But the most apparent remaining influence is in the Jeju pony, declared National Monument No. 347.

The Mongols supposedly introduced their style of selective breeding during the 13th and 14th centuries to produce an animal more adaptable to extreme weather conditions. In the opening ceremony of the Time and Space Exhibit, a Jeju pony was brought from Ma Park, where a traditional Mongolian re-enactment is shown daily.

Kim said the Mongolian artists rely more on natural elements because they are too poor to purchase materials to create their art. For this reason, many of the pieces displayed are either representations of performance or instillation art. The pieces can be absorbed back into the elements from which they came.

Inside one sees mixed media representations of the artists’ experiences on the island. Many of the pieces, though created by separate artists, seem to follow the form of a circle. Kim said Mongolian art is informed greatly by Buddhism and Shamanism, and the circle represents spiritual/earthly interconnectedness.

Kim Yi Sun explained that the Mongolian artists, who come from a traditionally nomadic people, found similarities in Jeju landscapes to those back home. For example, the oreum (parallel volcanic cones) replicated the sand dunes in the Gobi desert. Kim said that the artists drew inspiration from the lines of their surroundings. Just like the artists themselves, who came and created and have now gone, the exhibit lasted only a short while: Dec. 17 to Dec. 30.

(Interpretation by Song Jung Hee).<Jeju Weekly>

<Nicole Erwin  contributor@jejuweekly.com ⓒ Jeju Weekly All rights reserved>


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