Bongsu Park | Dreamers' Gathering
21/05 - 08/06/2021
Post Territory Ujeongguk
Dreamers’ Gathering is a solo exhibition featuring the work of artist Bongsu Park, presenting an immersive sculptural installation, videos, and selections from the artist’s archive, which channel the multi-faceted power of dreams to facilitate social interaction.
Accompanying the exhibition are programs that are free and open to the public: a dream reflection workshop on May 29; a symposium on May 30 exploring dreams from various fields of study; and a participatory dream auction event on June 5. Please see the schedule below for details on each program and how to sign up.
An immersive installation will fill the gallery’s ground floor with an ethereal dreamscape for audiences to view and interact with. Two large structures of hanging cloth, which visitors can enter inside of, will be illuminated by projected visualizations of sleep brain waves. Each structure represents an evolving data portrait of a select number of participants who have worked with the artist to record their brain waves while dreaming.
The galleries on the second floor will show video works exploring movement and dream rituals, as well as an archive of dream narratives which the artist has been collecting from participants in her workshops over the course of several years. In addition, reference materials documenting dream psychology practices and the presence of buying and selling dreams in Korean history will add contextual components to the artistic explorations on display.
For the last three years, Park has developed an ongoing practice exploring the interpersonal dynamics of Korean traditions of buying and selling dreams. Discussing and interpreting dreams, and exchanging them amongst friends and family is a popular way of identifying symbols that may shed light on a person’s present and future life. In Dreamers’ Gathering, the artist invites audiences to gather together and explore the intricacies of their dreams as traditional yet casual systems for self-reflection and self-actualization in everyday life. This exhibition is curated by Anna Harsanyi, an independent curator based in New York.
Curator: Anna Harsanyi
supported by Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture
Schedule:
Dream Workshop
Saturday, May 29th, 2-3:30 pm KST
Led by artist Bongsu Park, participants will take part in casual conversations and storytelling activities about their dreams. Based on her research and artistic practice, the artist will give insights into the potential meanings and symbolic interpretations of the participants’ dreams.
Dream Symposium
Sunday, May 30th, 2-3:30 pm KST
- Dream Symposium registration
This symposium will bring together different practitioners who study and engage with dreams in their work, in order to highlight the ways in which dreams are considered in various contexts throughout both professional and social life. Korean Classical Literature scholar Noh Young-Yun will discuss the presence of dreams in Korean history, professor Suh-Young Kim will talk about how to use Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams in everyday life, and mythologist Koh Hye-kyung will share her research on how individual dreams illuminate, analyze and heal society with dreams collected during the Sewol Ferry incident. Artist Bongsu Park will present her visual explorations of dreams in her artwork. Presentations will be 20 minutes each, followed by a Q&A session at the end led by curator Suzy Park.
Dream Auction
Saturday, June 5th, 5-7 pm KST
The Korean tradition of buying and selling dreams is a practice with rich social and historical layers. In her years exploring this practice, Bongsu Park has collected several dreams which have been written down and shared by participants in workshops and visitors to her exhibitions, including this one. In a culminating event, these dreams will be auctioned off as a way of formalizing an informal practice, and honoring the contributions of dreamers. This event will be playful and casual, offering a fun way to think about the process of transaction in buying and selling dreams. The auction is not a commodification of such a transaction, rather it invites the audience to reflect on the practice of buying and selling dreams, and how it might exist beyond the material realm.
In the event, Byun Hongcheul will lead the proceedings as auctioneer, reading each dream and then guiding participants in the auction process. Each dream will be transcribed on a custom scroll made by the artist, and it will be delivered to the highest bidder at the end of the event. Bidding will take place live online and for a limited number of in-person guests. Prices start at 50,000 KRW, and all profits from the auction will be donated to charity. No prior experience with auctions or financial qualifications are necessary to join this event, and event attendees are not required to purchase something.
