Gwangju City Installs Non-Standard Media Art at Tollgate... 'World's First'

On the afternoon of the 8th, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, attended the demonstration event of the Gwangju Identity Symbolic Sculpture 'Light of Mudeung' held at Gwangju Tollgate in Nam-myeon, Jangseong-gun, and took a commemorative photo with guests including Hwang Hyun-taek, Chairman of the Gwangju City Council's Industry and Construction Committee, Kim Sun-jung, CEO of the Gwangju Biennale Foundation, and artist Lee Inam. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] A symbolic sculpture embodying the spirit of Gwangju has been installed at the tollgate, the gateway to Gwangju.

Gwangju Metropolitan City and the Gwangju Biennale Foundation announced on the afternoon of the 8th that they held a demonstration event for the symbolic sculpture "Light of Mudeung" at the Gwangju Tollgate in Nam-myeon, Jangseong.

The demonstration event was attended by Mayor Lee Yong-seop, Hwang Hyun-taek, Chair of the Gwangju City Council's Industry and Construction Committee, Kim Seon-jeong, CEO of the Gwangju Biennale Foundation, Park Sang-ho, Chairman of the Gwangju Policy Citizens' Council, among others. The event proceeded with a progress report by project manager Kang Pil-seo, who oversaw the overall planning and installation of the symbolic sculpture, an explanation of the artwork by artist Lee Lee-nam, and a viewing of the piece.

Previously, Gwangju City had been promoting the installation of a symbolic sculpture with artistic and architectural elements so that visitors could feel the unique spirit of Gwangju upon entering the city.

To this end, last year, a public art competition was held, and the work "Light of Mudeung," a collaboration between Kim Min-guk, CEO of Now Engineering Architecture Office, and media artist Lee Lee-nam, was selected as the symbolic sculpture. Construction began in October last year and was recently completed.

"Light of Mudeung," shaped after Mudeungsan Mountain, is the world's first-ever freeform media art piece, installed atop the Gwangju Tollgate with dimensions of 74 meters wide and 8 meters high.

Especially on the route entering Gwangju from Seoul, the media art expresses the hope that the "Gwangju spirit" of the three hometowns?Uihyang, Yehyang, and Mihyang?will extend to the global community through light. It broadcasts media art symbolizing Gwangju’s unique qualities such as the four seasons of Mudeungsan, day and night, and the light of Gwangju via an LED media facade.

The video runs for a total of 8 minutes and 30 seconds and can be viewed daily for 12 hours from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Gwangju City plans to produce and showcase content on various themes, including the May 18 Democratic Uprising.

On the route from Gwangju to Seoul, visitors can encounter the Wind Veil, which consists of 12,000 stainless steel pixels measuring 10 cm by 10 cm, symbolizing the citizens of Gwangju. The Wind Veil’s pixels sway according to the wind direction, expressing another charm of Mudeungsan Mountain as it moves with the breeze.

Gwangju City expects this sculpture to offer visitors a sense of Gwangju’s unique spirit and to serve as a new landmark.

Mayor Lee Yong-seop said, “It is especially meaningful that the symbolic sculpture embodying the spirit of Gwangju was completed ahead of the 40th anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising,” adding, “I hope ‘Light of Mudeung’ becomes a new landmark of Gwangju that radiates the ‘Gwangju Spirit’ of democracy, human rights, and peace.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.