Exhibition Information

			Gwangju faces again as it leaves 2020

Ending the year 2020, which will remain an inflection point of history, and welcoming another new year, Gwangju New World Gallery has prepared "Another Gwangju" that looks at the city we live in with a new perspective. Wouldn't there be a figure of Gwangju that can't be found now? What else is there that I didn't know about Gwangju? What did Gwangju look like in 2020 when we spent our daily lives challenging new standards? I would like to reflect on this year by looking back at Gwangju, which I thought was familiar with by 13 writers who recorded Gwangju through photographs and expressed Gwangju's emotions through paintings and video works. 

The name "Gwangju," a place of prosperity expressed in brilliant sunlight, was called Mujinju during the Baekje Kingdom and Muju during the North and South Korean kingdoms, but it began to be officially recorded as an official name by the Goryeo Dynasty. After mixing and mixing, Bitgoeul Gwangju became a provincial government office in the 19th century and was promoted to a metropolitan city in the 20th century. Yangdong Market, which began to be built in the 1920s when embankments were constructed and factories were built nearby, is the largest traditional market in Jeollanam-do, and Namgwangju Station (formerly Singwangju Station), which opened in 1930, has grown into a major station in Gwangju, but was closed in 2000 due to the relocation of Gwangju. In the 1980s, the former Jeollanam-do Office and the Jeonil Building wrote a page of history deep in our hearts. The old alleys of Gwangju are filled with memories from Jisan-dong and Dongmyeong-dong to Yangrim-dong and Wolsan-dong, which are now remembered for different generations. From the stories of alley restaurants who loved paintings to the taste of the alley on a snowy day, to the sight of the full moon between the deep night buildings, the story is colorful.

Despite being used to the daily inconvenience of being with masks and hand sanitizers, we still miss our daily lives and hope that we may someday be able to return to them. Going abroad freely has become a dream, and even domestic travel has to look at the situation of the destination, and having a cup of coffee and a meal together makes me think a lot. However, as the scope of activities narrowed, it became an opportunity to stay in my city and find out more about it. I find new images of my city, and I find another shape of Gwangju that I didn't find before because of my changed daily life. This exhibition is composed of works that allow you to discover new images of Gwangju, which was such a familiar city, and to remember the city that has disappeared in time. You can see us living in nature and downtown through the emotions and culture in the various landscapes of the city we currently live in, as well as the stories of Mudeungsan Mountain, the epicenter of Gwangju.

How long will it take to go back to the old days and smile with family and friends and reminisce about now? I'm having a frustrating time with unfamiliar daily life, but if I look at the other side of the coin, it became a time to worry and take care of me and my surroundings, and it was an opportunity to discover the beauty and novelty of the place where I stayed. Just as I learned that a short meeting is precious instead of a time when we can get together at any time, I hope I can feel that the familiar surroundings were beautiful and grateful.

Source by : Shinsegae Gallery homepage