We are delighted to announce that the year-long Made in Korea project is reaching its conclusion – in Seoul, when I travelled for a research trip exactly one year ago.
We have been working with renowned sound artist and improvised musician Hankil Ryu to organise this part of the project, which takes place at Mullae Arts Factory in Seoul as part of Resonance Festival.
Mullae Arts Factory, Seoul Arts Space, 30 Mullaedong 1(il)-ga, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul
Exhibition opening: Pocket Gallery, Kay Aplin’s Pavilion (Deconstructed) 4-6pm
Concert/Film Screening, Auditorium 6-7.30 (tickets on the door)
There are four aspects to the concluding events at Mullae.
I will be presenting Pavilion (Deconstructed), a condensed touring version of the larger installation originally created for British Ceramics Biennial 2017 (BCB), which was displayed as part of a three-part installation together with Shadow Workers by the Made in Korea Ceramic House artists in residence, Jin Kim and Kyung Won Baek, and Joseph Young’s 4-channel sound piece Handmade/Automation.
Photos by Joel Chester Files (top) and Sylvain Deleu (bottom) of Pavilion, Spode Works.
Reflecting on my experiences in Korea, Pavilion takes its inspiration from roof tiles that feature on traditional Korean architecture, which form a functional and aesthetic purpose edging the roofs of pavilions. Taken together, the installations evoke a cultural conversation between UK and Korean ceramic traditions through ceramics and sound. Made in Korea is on view until November 5th at Spode Works and worth a visit!
I have been making a new version of Pavilion in my studio since BCB opened, designing new layouts to fit the gallery space and taking into account what I can fit in my luggage! I’ve worked out that I can manage 35kgs of tiles split between our two hold suitcases ( if we are very modest in everything else that we take! Joseph’s sound equipment is negligible of course. Oh to be a sound artist!)
Pavilion (Deconstructed) will be accompanied by Handmade, a two channel sound piece by Joseph Young, which is composed of sound recordings I made while visiting the 10 Seoul-based artists working in their studios who participated in the Made in Korea exhibitions at The Ceramic House and Sladmore Contemporary. I recorded the sounds of them working in their studios – scraping, thumping, throwing, grinding and using machinery. Handmade is taken from Joseph’s original four-channel sound work at BCB; the other half, Automation, featuring the sounds of industrialised ceramic production in factories in Stoke-on-Trent.
The third aspect of Made in Korea at Mullae is Celadonaphonic. Celadonaphonic is a GPS-triggered sound walk that uses ceramic making processes as its source sounds, and features compositions from six international sound artists and composers, curated by Joseph in partnership with Hankil Ryu. The app was inaugurated at British Ceramics Biennial in Stoke-on-Trent in September and will be launched at Mullae Arts Factory. These is the outside cover of leaflet that will be available.
The mobile app that hosts the soundwalk can be found at echoes.xyz and is available for both iOS and Android. Download the echoes app and search for Celadonaphonic. You can also listen to the sounds directly on the app (without being in situ where the sounds are geographically located). It is recommended to wear a good set of headphones.
Commissioned artists:
Jez riley French dissolves (korea)
Joseph Young Resonating Canals #2
Hankil Ryu Texture Shifting
Young Eun Kim Some Sounds From Kitchenware
Jason Singh Re-Process Process
Sehee Choi Friction
The fourth aspect of the concluding events at Mullae will be the premiere of the Made in Korea Documentary Film directed by Nicki Lang of Tela Films. All of the sound works from Celadonaphonic plus Joseph Young’s Handmade/Automation for BCB form the soundtrack for the film that traces the story and evolution of the project. This will be screened during the inaugural concert for Resonance Festival in the auditorium at Mullae Arts Factory to a sit-down audience. Additionally world-renowned sound artists and musicians are on the bill for the concert, together with three artists playing live versions of their work on Celadonaphonic – Joseph Young, Hankil Ryu and Sehee Choi. Don’t miss what promises to be an interesting and exciting evening!
