JUNG Kangja’s Non-Physical Exhibition is the most dramatic example of reconstruction in this exhibition. First presented at the National Public Information Center in Seoul in 1970, the work was forcibly dismantled during its run following a government order that regarded avant-garde art as political agitation. It has now been reconstructed for the first time in 56 years. When visitors step into the space enclosed by a black curtain, smoke spreads and a siren sounds. A strong light then falls on the viewer’s face, followed by the artist’s voice: “You are now inside my work.” Through immaterial elements and sensory stimuli, the work transforms the act of viewing into the artwork itself. It both metaphorically reflects the tense atmosphere of the time and represents a radical attempt to expand the boundaries of art.
JUNG Kangja was a central figure in Korean avant-garde art, working with groups such as Shinjeon Dongin and The Fourth Group, and using the body and action as her primary mediums.
