Shin Beomsun

Korea, Republic of

With Koon Kwon, Kyungtae Kim, Maya West, mediabus Min & Sulki, and Lee Sungeun

 

Tales in Stone: In Search of the Language of Primordial Paradise, 2022
Singapore Biennale 2022 Commission

 

Tales in Stone: In Search of the Language of Primordial Paradise is a collaborative project presented as a mixed media installation. The project centres on Shin Beomsum’s research surrounding petroglyphs, which are stone carvings or paintings made by removing part of a stone’s surface by picking, abrading or carving. Through this project, Shin explores the stories and mythologies that may have arisen from the images and patterns engraved on these stones. Alongside the presentation of the stones collected by Shin, the project also presents alternate imagery in the form of sketches by Shin as well as paintings by Koon Kwon, photographic prints by Kyoungtae Kim, and an optical viewing device designed by Sungeun Lee. Installed next to these components is an optical device that provides an opportunity for audiences to have a closer look at the stones presented.

 

BIO
Shin Beomsun (b. 1956) retired from the professorship at the department of Korean Literature at Seoul National University in 2021. An author of several books, Shin specialises in early modern literature, particularly texts from the Japanese colonial era. Besides literature, Shin has dedicated his attention towards the research of pre-historic rock paintings. Both modern literature and rock paintings unfold the possibility of attentive and deep reading, which open up a new ontological field beyond the current paradigm, which Shin calls “the modern-mirroring regime based on the logic of mimesis.” He currently lives and works in South Korea.

 

RESOURCES

• Educational Resource | Artist Folio

 

INFORMATION

• Tales in Stone: In Search of the Language of Primordial Paradise. 2022. Mixed media installation. Dimensions variable.