haegue yang: 'condensation' at the venice biennale 09

haegue yang solo exhibition 'condensation'
organized by arts council korea and fondazione la biennale di venezia
at korean pavilion, giardini di castello, venice
june 7 - november 22, 2009


'series of vulnerable arrangements – domestics of community' by haegue yang, 2009
seven light sculptures
installation view of 'making worlds', 53rd venice biennale
courtesy galerie barbara wien, berlin, germany

korean artist haegue yang will exhibit at the 53rd venice art biennale representing her home
country korea. curated by eungie joo of the new museum, new york, 'condensation' will feature
three newly commissioned works in sculpture, video, and installation that reflect the breadth
of haegue yang's work and her concern with the potential of marginalized spaces and the possibilities
for alternate forms of public engagement. yang's work will also be installed in the arsenale as part of
daniel birnbaum's main exhibition, 'making worlds'.

in the exhibition, haegue yang explores hidden spaces that might be considered marginal,
but to the artist constitute profound backdrops for understanding:
vulnerable sites where informal development can occur. using condensation as a metaphor,
yang seeks direct communication with unknown people through a seemingly intangible path
of exchange—one that imparts nonfunctional yet ontologically significant information.


'series of vulnerable arrangements – domestics of community' by haegue yang, 2009
courtesy galerie barbara wien, berlin, germany


'series of vulnerable arrangements – domestics of community' by haegue yang, 2009
courtesy galerie barbara wien, berlin, germany


'sallim', 2009
courtesy galerie barbara wien, berlin, and kukje gallery, seoul
photo: pattara chanruechachai

for her sculpture 'sallim' (2009), yang reproduces a full-scale model of her berlin kitchen.
sallim (roughly translated from korean as 'running a household') considers the noncommercial
space of the kitchen as a site of preparation for action and the organization of life. yang's
kitchen is, as she says, 'free from many of the things that are attributes of the ordinary concept
of work in terms of social effectiveness/productivity,' thereby nurturing a different connection to
the outside world, to others, and to her work.


'sallim', 2009
courtesy galerie barbara wien, berlin, and kukje gallery, seoul
photo: pattara chanruechachai


'voice and wind' 2009
site-specific installation
installation view of 'condensation', korean pavilion, 53rd venice biennale
courtesy kukje gallery, seoul, korea
photos: pattara chanruechachai

the main gallery, features the installation series of vulnerable arrangements—'voice and wind' (2009),
a labyrinthine system of stacked venetian blinds. six ventilators placed around the gallery generate wind
at various intervals, altering both the stability of the blinds as suspended barriers and the movement of
visitors. scent emitters infuse the installation with moments of sensory experience, calling upon the visitors'
subjectivity as a key element in the definition of the space. as in previous works and her new light
sculptures in the 'making worlds' exhibition, in voice and wind, yang introduces electricity as an invisible
connection between objects, people, and ideas.


'voice and wind' 2009
courtesy kukje gallery, seoul, korea
photos: pattara chanruechachai

yang lives and works in berlin, germany and seoul, korea.