“The things that we can describe as ‘human’ all relate to freedom. Ours is a human history marked by the yearning and struggle for liberation and by anguish, the joy of victory, and tenacity, and it is a reflection of how we are free beings.”

– Hyeon Seung-hyo, “The Anthropological Principle of Homesickness”

In conjunction with its exhibition MOON Kyungwon & JEON Joonho: Seoul Weather Station, Art Sonje Center presents NEWS FROM NOWHERE: ECLIPSE (2021–2022), a video work by the artists that was recently shown at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa. The video will be running from November 2 to 6, and again from November 23 to 27.

NEWS FROM NOWHERE: ECLIPSE depicts the human battle for survival amid a precarious day-to-day life on a lifeboat in a vast, empty sea. Through this, it shows the tenancy and will of the human being seeking a return to fundamental liberty and an escape from the fetters of boundaries and institutions that constrain human existence. Induced by the search for a resolution to the world’s discord, this desperate illusion alternates between reality and non-reality as it aspires toward correspondence.

Seemingly the sole survivor in an apocalyptic environment, “A” drifts in a lifeboat over an endless ocean expanse as he searches for other survivors. While there is no way of knowing who created it or for what purpose, “A” believes himself to exist within this virtual environment that diminishes and deconstructs the human being. Consumed by a tragic, constrained world where his spirit and body are held in sway, “A” continues his unconscious struggle for freedom, yearning for liberation from the world that binds him.

Screening
MOON Kyungwon & JEON Joonho, NEWS FROM NOWHERE: Eclipse. 2021–2022. Single-channel video with sound, subtitled in English, 17 min., 16 sec.
∙ Actor: RYU JUN YEOL∙ Directed and Written by MOON KYUNGWON & JEON JOONHO∙ Director of Photography: CHO EUNSOO∙ Lighting Designer: HAN KYUNG WOOK∙ Production Designer: JO HWASUNG
∙ Make-up and Hair Stylist: CHO TAEHEE (SKY FX)∙ Editor: KIM SUNMIN∙ Music by JANG YOUNGKYU∙ Digital Intermediate Supervisor: CHO HEEDAE (ALGORITHM MEDIA LAB)∙ Visual Effects Supervisor: CHA DONGHOON (DEFAULT) ∙ Production Manager: JEONG YOUNGJOON

About the artists

Working as a duo since 2009, MOON Kyungwon & JEON Joonho have been exploring the role of art in a rapidly changing world and crises faced by mankind such as political and economic contradictions, historical conflict, and climate change. Their best-known project is News from Nowhere (2012-), an interdisciplinary and participatory platform that aims to reflect on contemporary society and propose visions for the future by collaborating with experts from diverse fields, including design, science, philosophy, economics, and politics.