- Venue
- Landguard Fort
- Date
- Friday, June 17, 2022
05:30 PM - Address
- View Point Road Felixstowe IP11 3TW
- Location
- East England
- Organiser
- Landguard Fort, Felixstowe
Join artist Yva Jung for the opening of her solo exhibition ‘Journey with a Container’ for talks, a drink and a signed print from the artist.
This exhibition, centered on a new film commission, is the culmination of an 18 month residency in Felixstowe, supported by Pier Projects Art Agency.
About the Opening
An informal introduction and in-conversation will begin at 18.00. We are delighted to welcome Port Chaplain Julian Wong who will take part in a short-in-
conversation with the artist.
Book via Eventbrite HERE:
About the Exhibition
A staggering 90% of all that we own has made its way to us via a shipping container. For those who live in Suffolk, the Port of Felixstowe – the largest of its kind in the UK – offers a glimpse into the scale of the industry and is a feat of engineering that enables global free trade. The port’s cranes dominate the skyline and containers stack high, blocking much of the port’s workings from public view. Yet, we know little of the lives within and rarely see those whose job it is to navigate the mass transportation of goods.
It is this seemingly invisible movement and the hidden lives of the seafaring communities that are the focus of this latest exhibition by visual artist Yva Jung.
Commissioned by the Pier Projects Art Agency and hosted by Landguard Fort, the exhibition ‘Journeys with a Container’ has the perfect backdrop – that of the port itself – and invites viewers to carefully consider their own relationship and proximity to the mass movement of food, objects and indeed, people.
Located within one of Languard’s historic rooms, a newly commissioned film provides the focal point of the exhibition. We witness Jung take her own journey with a miniature wooden container that she pulls along with a rope. The artist is seen struggling against the elements to make it travel along different terrains including a beach at Old Felixstowe, nodding sensitively to the arduous physical conditions often experienced by seafarers.
Drawn from interviews which took place during the height of the pandemic when seafarers were isolated on their vessels and could not return home, the artist encounters a mother-seafarer and a port chaplain. Through these dialogues – whether voiced or voiceless – Jung reveals the sacrifices made on these journeys, the reasons why they do this work and the impact on their families.
Accompanying the film are several sculptural elements and text, including a container filled with personal items replicating those packed by the female seafarer prior to her journeys. Indicative of Jung’s personal approach to the development of the exhibition as a whole, these familiar toiletries and other belongings, give an insight into the disparity of what can be taken on the journey against the magnitude of what and who is left behind.
The exhibition launches during The Festival of the Sea, part of the Festival of Suffolk, and the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen.
This commision is supported by Arts Council England and East Suffolk District Council via Enabling Communities Funds.
Dates: The exhibition runs from 17 June – 1 September 2022
Exhibition opening: 17 June 2022 5.30-7pm
Location: Casemate F25, 1st Floor, Landguard Fort, View Point Rd, Felixstowe IP11 3TW
Artist Bio:
Yva Jung is a visual artist based in Hertfordshire, UK.
Jung’s work begins with a particular way of observing the external world. Often the slightly skewed observations of everyday situations are based upon placing herself in an unfamiliar environment or a particular place. She works mainly with installation, moving image, digital print, drawing, and improvised encounters, and her practice is an ongoing, reflective dialogue with daily experiences and everyday objects that Jung subverts to add stories to.
Jung studied Fine Art in Seoul and New York before receiving her practice-led PhD from Slade School of Fine Art, London in 2016. She has been awarded many grants including from Arts Council England and the Arts Council Korea. She has undertaken numerous artist residencies including the Arctic Circle Residency. Jung’s work has been exhibited in various contemporary art institutions globally such as CAFAM Biennale (China), König London (UK), Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (Germany) and the St Albans Museum (UK).
www.yvajung.com
For all event queries or questions, please email [email protected]
