Zone Of Nowhere is the first solo exhibition in Australia by internationally acclaimed, New York-based multidisciplinary artist Kimsooja.
The exhibition features selected works from the South-Korean artist’s 30-year career and a major new site specific work created for Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA), as well as a public art project on the streets of Perth.
Kimsooja explores the human condition through installation, performance, sculpture, video and photography and invites us to question the major challenges we face in this complex era. Heavily influenced by Buddhism, Zen, Confucianism, Christianity and the role of the artist as shaman, she creates lyrical artworks that draw inspiration from everyday activities and imagery.
To Breathe – Zone Of Nowhere (2018) is an awe-inspiring installation of 30 large translucent flags suspended above PICA’s central gallery space. It originates from her earlier video work To Breathe - The Flags (2012), commissioned by the International Olympic Committee for the London 2012 Summer Olympics.
In this work, as in the earlier video version, national flags are layered upon each other, offering a translucent dissolving of symbols and emblems and a breakdown of international hierarchy or political prejudice.
The work expresses a wish for coexistence; for a society in which individuals unite in celebration of their distinctions and common humanity. The flags can also be seen affixed to the facades of communal spaces in Northbridge and Perth CBD from mid-February to early March, as part of an extended public art project, supported by Wesfarmers Arts.
