A massive spider web hangs overhead, with transparent glass beads glistening like dew, evoking an unsettling feeling. While it may resemble a constellation from below, it also suggests being ensnared as prey in the web.
The Podo Museum will showcase the large installation 'Web' by renowned artist Mona Hatoum for the first time in South Korea, starting September 2 at Seonhye-won in Samcheong-dong, Seoul. The artwork fills the grand wooden structure of Gyeongheunggak.
At a press conference held a day before the exhibition's opening, Hatoum stated, "The meaning of the spider web will differ for each viewer. I hope they can feel and experience the contrasting currents of being a tool for capturing prey and the ominous energy behind its softness."
'Web' offers different sensations from the first and second floors of Gyeongheunggak. From the first floor, viewers may feel like potential prey, while from the second floor, they might see themselves as the spider gracefully traversing the web. This shift in perspective transforms the viewer's role from that of the captured to the captor.
'Web' serves as both a trap and a shelter. The Podo Museum explained, "A single thin line weaves through space, creating a structure that holds taut tension within its imperfections. Sometimes, the most precarious things demonstrate the strongest resilience."
Born into a Palestinian refugee family in Beirut, Lebanon, Hatoum was unable to return home after the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War while staying in London in 1975. Since then, she has based her work in London, continuously exploring the unstable relationships between home, body, boundaries, power, and the individual and the world.
Hatoum remarked that her work "harmoniously blends with the natural environment of Seonhye-won, adding a sense of lightness and fragility." Regarding the exhibition title 'The State of Things That Shake,' he noted, "Humans may shake and bend but do not break. Embracing both the negative and positive, the frightening and the beautiful, and living in flow is something I find incredibly beautiful."
The exhibition will also feature works by Choi Sung-im and Yoon Soo-kim. Choi presents 'Golden Blanket,' measuring 6.2 by 4.8 meters, crafted from intertwined golden bread ties, while Yoon showcases the 'Surface of the Wind' series, layering cutouts of people's footprints made from blue PVC vinyl, a material used for stroller windshields.
Kim Hee-young, the director of the Podo Museum, expressed in the exhibition's planning statement, "I hope this exhibition serves as a space to reflect on the time quietly embedded in things we often overlook and to consider the lives that have endured that time, gently inquiring about each other's well-being."
The exhibition runs until October 31, closed on Mondays. Free admission reservations open every Monday at 10 a.m. for the following week and can be made through Naver reservations.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.