[Gallery Walk] A Sharp Accusation Toward the 'Japanese Imperialism' Left as a Ghost

Art Sonje Center, Ho Chunyen's First Solo Exhibition in Korea
'Hotel Aporia' and 'Time's Tea' etc.
Exploring Asian Modernity and Present... Highlighting 20 Years of Work

"The empty faces in the video are no one and everyone at the same time. Perhaps, in that we can project ourselves onto them, it brings past beings into the present."

Singaporean writer Ho Chun-yen is answering questions from the press at the 'Ho Chun-yen: Time and Cloud' press conference held on the afternoon of the 3rd at the Art Sonje Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Ho Chunyen (48), a Singaporean artist who has explored Asian modernity through various artistic languages, says that unresolved trauma from the past returns in various forms to suppress us if not confronted, emphasizing that "only by recognizing and respecting differences can we hope for a progressive future."

The exhibition "Ho Chunyen: Time and Cloud," currently held at the Art Sonje Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul, focuses on three works?"Unknown Cloud" (2011), "Hotel Aporia" (2019), and "Time’s Tea" (2023?2024)?highlighting Asian modernity, particularly the influence of Japanese imperialism, which the artist has focused on.

The first work to capture the audience’s attention is the six-channel video installation "Hotel Aporia." This video, first presented as a commission for the 2019 Aichi Triennale in Japan, originated from a curator’s request to install a site-specific work at Kirakutei, a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn). At the time, the artist was researching Japanese imperialism and discovered that the ryokan proposed for installation was the site of the final banquet of the Kusanagi Unit, a kamikaze squadron during World War II.

Exhibition view of 'Hotel Aporia' featured in the 'Hochunien: Time and Cloud' exhibition, which opened on the 4th at the Art Sonje Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The characters in the video appear with their faces erased. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The video, composed of keywords such as "waves" and "wind," is screened in a dark tatami room amid a chilling breeze. The scene of visitors entering and watching symbolizes the artist’s apocalyptic worldview that orchestrates all of this. The video includes edited footage from wartime propaganda films, such as "Late Spring" (1949) by director Yasujir? Ozu (小津安二郞), who was conscripted to make propaganda films during World War II.

The artist explains, "There were concerned views about a Singaporean artist creating work about Japanese imperial history. But there are no outsiders in this issue. Southeast Asia, including Singapore, was directly affected by Japanese imperialism," adding, "In Singapore’s case, although the British ruled for a longer period, the intensity of Japanese rule was much harsher."

When he unveiled this work in 2019, the response from Japanese audiences and critics was favorable. Local critics praised it for "offering a new perspective on their own history."

The faces in the video have their eyes, noses, and mouths erased. The artist says the emptied faces can be no one and everyone at once. He emphasizes, "If we project ourselves onto them, we can bring past beings into the present."

The 42 videos titled "Fragments of Time" (Timepieces) also draw attention. These videos, containing images related to time, play according to their individual durations. Visitors sensorially experience fragmented time through these different temporal videos.

Opposite the installation videos, a large screen shows an animation that continuously presents stories and fragmented images related to time?from a clock tower repairman grandfather in Singapore to Salvador Dal?’s "melting clocks" image. This animation, titled "Time’s T," is followed by another live-action video screen, creating a unique visual experience.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Ho Chunyen states, "Unresolved trauma or history always appears to us in the form of ghosts." Of Malaysian Chinese descent, he confesses that he was skeptical about Singapore’s lack of resentment toward imperialism compared to other Asian countries despite its colonial past, and that this absence of resentment sparked his interest in East Asian modern history.

His ongoing critical research that views the present through the past also extends to contemporary explorations. Alongside "Unknown Cloud," which tells the story of eight individuals living monotonous lives in public housing estates for low-income residents in Singapore, three other videos titled "Newton," "Gould," and "Earth" will be screened sequentially in this exhibition. The exhibition runs until August 4. Admission is paid.

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