The vision toward the world

The Anthropocene is a kind of geological term that explains a tremendous change in the history of the earth by humankind. Compared to the geological age classification, it features human impact on the environment, including the extinction of many species. This term is to awaken the ethical responsibility of human for their abuse as well as to be aware of changes in the ecosystem of the Earth.

As we are already in an urgent global crisis, the concept of Anthropocene is a message ongoing and an issue reflecting.

The Immersive Media Art Exhibition <Beyond the World> at G.MAP will allow us to mention the main pending problems of our time, such as surplus materials and the lack of spirituality.

The meaning of 'beyond' in the exhibition theme involves the vision toward the era of artists and artistic viewpoint, not the other side of space or things. Yoon Chung Han and Zhang Xiaotao tell us timely issues such as personal crises, the absence of spiritual culture, and environmental problems through forms of their media artworks.

Yoon Chung Han’s <Plastic scenes-the world of hidden side>, in collaboration with Professor Seong-Lyun Kim, extends the artist’s ongoing artistic exploration of climate change data for decades. This artwork serves as a warning about the critical issue of microplastics, one of the primary contributors to environmental crises. The scenes that consist of plastic materials employ an engineering approach that diverges from conventional input-output methods: Througn intentional errors, data deletion using reverse-direction algorithms, and reducing complexity. With detailed sound effects and improving immersion in their work, It leads us to see the reality of climate change and to get warnings of the future destroyed by plastics.

The artwork, <Sakya> by Zhang Xiaotao shows us the absence of a spiritual world in today's material world. Exploring Tibetan Buddhism for five years from 2006, he made his work hoping that we will know where to go and consider how to care about our spirits. He filmed the documentary and animated videos conducting interdisciplinary research with archaeology exploring the Sakya monastery.

"Art is the artist’s personal religion, and the job of the artist is to follow the path of transcendence." he explained. His work focused on image and sound and exposed the mystique of the spiritual and artistic world.

In a way, the Anthropocene can be seen as a problem arising from the contradiction inherent in the interconnectedness between spirit and material, individuals and the world.

Eventually, we will find a clue in the epistemological question, "What is human justice?".

Even though the answer to this question remains elusive, I hope you will have a chance to contemplate our lives through the perspective of artists who navigate the realms of both the tangible and intangible.

G.MAP Curator Ko Young-jae