SEOUL.- Seoul Weather Station is an exhibition that uses artistic imagination and interdisciplinary cooperation as part of a multifaceted approach to the rapid environmental changes that have come about through global weather phenomena and natural disasters.
Historically, humankind has viewed nature simply as something to be conquered. But the environmental crises that have become visible these days—climate destruction, ravaged biodiversity, pollution, and so forth—send the clear message that the old perspective is no longer valid. Under these circumstances, art should be capable of exploring nature, the environment, and the Earth in new ways—and of suggesting different approaches that shift us away from the previous perspectives. This exhibition was conceived as a temporary “weather station” that observes issues related to our climate environment from new and varied angles, while forecasting alternative possibilities for the future.
MOON Kyungwon & JEON Joonho form a duo of artists who have investigated the functions and roles of art in proposing imaginative alternatives for the crisis and rapidly changing world that humankind confronts today. For the Seoul Weather Station exhibition, they present immersive installation artwork and a participatory platform to call for a change in our thinking about climate issues and to experiment with new challenges and adventures.
The title of To Build a Fire (2022), the duo’s new work, comes from a short story of the same name published in 1902 by Jack London. While London’s story used a man’s desperate battle to survive in the cold to examine human survival in the face of nature, MOON & JEON’s work portrays the Earth’s changing face as it traces the endless trajectory of time from a nonhuman perspective.
Mobile Agora: Seoul Weather Station (2022) shows both the results of MOON & JEON’s projects with different collaborators and the process leading up to their emergence. It also presents a talk program in which experts from different fields are invited to share their research on our rapidly changing climate and global environment.
The exhibition is taking place as part of the World Weather Network (WWN) project. An association of weather stations, WWN was established by arts organizations in 28 countries, which came together to respond to the climate emergency and the global crisis of accelerating ecosystem destruction. With the Seoul Weather Station exhibition, Art Sonje Center is seeking to become a “Seoul weather station” examining the role of art and sharing alternative discourses in an era of climate crisis.
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. Notable exhibitions include Kassel dOCUMENTA 13 (2012), the Korean Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2015), Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich (2015), Tate Liverpool, UK (2018-2019), National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA), Seoul (2021-2022), and 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (2022).
MOON Kyungwon is based in Seoul and works as a professor at the College of Art & Design, Ewha Womans University. JEON Joonho lives and works in Busan and Seoul.
