Bongsu Park at Gallery Rosenfeld
Bongsu Park’s current exhibition at Gallery Rosenfeld in London puts a modern spin on ancient Korean traditions. Her ‘Dream Auction’ is a display of wall-hanging scrolls with different individuals dreams written out in either English or Korean printed text. The hanging scroll tradition derives from the popular ancient painting format in Asia where calligraphers would inscribe poems, often accompanied by a fantastical landscape painting in ink. Each hanging scroll has the dream of a different individual. Strangers were invited to submit their dreams to a forum and the artist selected them. A concept typically unknown to the West, the London-based Contemporary Korean artist Bongsu Park brings the Korean tradition of buying and selling dreams to the fore.
In addition to these hanging scrolls are a collection of pale A4 canvases with a glass cover. Each glass cover is engraved with words that are excerpts from these dreams. However, the words are only visible as a shadow on the canvas underneath, caused by a direct spotlight from above. This relationship with the light is powerful, as the dream is only visible when a light is shone. Next door, in the dark room is a light installation which captures the wave patterns created during REM sleep cycles. The gallery space has an overwhelming sense of calm that comforts the view into a dream like trance.
shuster + moseley | bongsu park
