"Touch, Break, and Burn"... Gyeonggi Ceramic Museum Hosts Unique Exhibition Completed by Visitors

Special Exhibition ‘Things Placed Between Clay and Us’
Open from March 27 to July 12
14 Participatory Installation Works by 10 Artists from Korea and Abroad
Immersive Experiences Including Cracking Eggs with a Ceramic Fist

The era of silently appreciating artworks in static exhibition halls is over. In Gyeonggi Province, a unique exhibition unfolds where visitors can touch, break, and even burn the artworks themselves, making such radical actions a part of the artistic completion process.

The Korea Ceramic Foundation announced that it will host the special exhibition ‘Things Placed Between Clay and Us’ at the Gyeonggi Ceramic Museum’s Exhibition Hall 2 and lobby from March 27 to July 12. This exhibition breaks away from the traditional approach of merely delivering finished works and instead highlights the process of ‘living art,’ where visitor participation and the transformation of materials intersect.

Poster of the 2026 Gyeonggi Ceramic Museum Special Exhibition 'Things Placed Between Clay and Us.' Courtesy of Korea Ceramic Foundation

This exhibition moves beyond the conventional format of simply appreciating completed works, instead focusing on the artistic process that evolves and is completed through the participation and actions of the audience.

Clay is a material that constantly changes shape—drying, cracking, and breaking. The exhibition draws attention to the moments of change formed by the meeting of clay’s material properties with the senses and actions of the visitors. Through participatory installation artworks, visitors can establish a direct relationship with the works and experience art as a living process.

The exhibition features 14 participatory installation pieces by 10 artists from Korea and abroad, including Kim Sun, Kim Ahyoung, Rob Luijmer, Cecile Kemperink, Woo Kwanho, Lee Chulyoung & Kang Ahyoung, Jung Nayoung, Forest Guard, and Hong Geunyoung.

Key works in Exhibition Hall 2 include ‘Conditions for Incubation’ by Jung Nayoung and ‘Vaporization of the Mind’ by Kim Sun.

‘Conditions for Incubation’ is an artwork in which visitors use a ceramic fist to crack eggs and discover hidden messages inside. This program operates daily at 2 p.m., and up to 30 people can participate each day through on-site registration.

‘Vaporization of the Mind’ invites participants to write down their emotions and memories on paper, attach them to a jar, and then burn them. This work captures the process by which personal emotions are transformed into collective memory through burning, and it will be held three times (April 25, May 30, and June 27). Participation is available through advance registration.

In addition, the collaborative project ‘Embodying Wishes’ by Lee Chulyoung and Kang Ahyoung will be exhibited in the second-floor lobby. This participatory work, in which visitors stack ceramic objects to create a stone-pile landscape, visually expresses the expansion of memory and relationships and is available at all times.

Various other participatory works will also be featured in the second-floor outdoor space and the museum plaza. As operation times and participation methods differ by artwork, visitors are advised to check the Gyeonggi Ceramic Museum website in advance for detailed information.

Further information about the exhibition can be found on the Korea Ceramic Foundation website or the Gyeonggi Ceramic Museum website.

Kim Ahyoung, who contributed the bell-shaped installation piece ‘Sound Resonator’—measuring 1 to 2 meters and created through a citizen workshop—remarked, “It is meaningful to present a work made by the hands of many families in a place where more visitors can touch, feel, and experience it. I hope that exhibitions where audiences and artists participate and communicate together will become even more active in the future.”

Ryu Inkwon, CEO of the Korea Ceramic Foundation, said, “This special exhibition is one where the works change and are completed through visitor participation. I hope it provides an opportunity to newly discover the sensations and possibilities of clay—a material easily overlooked in daily life.”

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