What does May 18 mean to the generation that has not experienced it?
To the people who did not experience the May 18 Democratization Movement forty years ago, it is a historical fact that they know as a subject in history class, but it does not come to mind clearly. In particular, in the situations where they have to explain it to people who are not from Gwangju, they hesitate and realize that they do not know enough. As such, May 18 is only remembered as one of the recurring anniversaries for them with fragmentary
understanding.
Then What Shall We Sing? was conceived from Bak Sol-may’s short story collection of the same title, and is an experimental effort in which the concept of a shared sensibility, or a “common sense,” according to Han Sangwon, was introduced to form a universal emotional consensus and expand understanding beyond the concept of commemoration and memorial.
This common sense refers to the emotional empathy arising from historical experiences or trauma experienced by members of society, and the formation of this common sense becomes a condition for the establishment of solidarity and the creation of a social network. Therefore, this common sense enables mutual bonds and communication between members of society. In other words, a common sense means that all human beings are connected with other humans who are both independent subjects and the others, and in this light, it is a sensibility that makes them feel themselves as members of the community.*
Kim Ja-yi, who develops installations and video works with themes of the “unconsciousness” and “rest,” confronts an “I” who remembers May 18 through Then What Shall We Sing?. It excludes the influence of a priori perception before feeling the senses and presents a sound-based installation work to experience May and provoke thought for the senses.
This exhibition, which is made up of a collaboration between the artist and the curator, allows people to share thoughts through devices that elicit a common sense. We look forward to the possibility of continuing further solidarity and community through sharing and communication.
*Reference: Han, Sangwon. “A Common Sense and Methexis: Fundamentals of the ‘Coming’ Community by Kant, Rancière, and Adorno.” (Written by_Banseok KIM)