GIAF2023

Sunmin Park focuses on external phenomena such as size and shape while connecting them to inner qualities.This time, the artist directs the attention to the Noam Tunnel located in Noam-dong. Observing the Noam Tunnel through the lens of a camera, the artist concentrated on the structural characteristics of the tunnel and the people who pass through it. Imagining the tunnel’s entrances as sensory organs, like the eyes and ears if the mountain would be the head of a giant, the artist observed the local people passing through this sensory pathway. The music playing behind the unadorned sounds produced by people passing through the tunnel is from an album by David Grubbs called Borough of Broken Umbrellas(2018). Grubbs portrays the residents of Brooklyn, a working-class neighborhood, who opt for cheap, easily damaged umbrellas you would rather get when in a hurry, instead of investing on expensive ones. Drawing a connection between the daily landscape of Noam-dong and the music, Sunmin Park conveys the resonance of the music and the ordinary sounds of the tunnel, offering a heartfelt perspective on the lives of the residents of Noam-dong.

*Noam Tunnel, previously introduced at the 1st Gangneung International Art Festival(GIAF22), holds a painful history. It was created during the early 1900s under Japanese colonial rule for the purpose of plundering. During the Korean War in 1950-1953, it became a site of civilian massacres. From the 1960s, it was utilized as a railway track, and over time, with the construction of the KTX railway, it transformed into a park and promenade that we know today. Due to societal shifts and demands, the political landscape it once used to be is now transitioning into a different landscape where the residents of Noam-dong can take a walk and relax, blending into their daily lives.