no mountain high enough

 

시청각 audio visual pavilion, Seoul

2013. 11. 28 ~2014. 1. 25 

Sasa[44], 남화연, 박길종, 슬기와 민, 옥인 콜렉티브, 

이영준, 잭슨홍, 서영란

오늘날의 풍수지리는 호연지기를 무기 삼아 산을 오르는 자에게만 잠시 모습을 드러내는 이상한 감각이다. 해발 338m의 인왕산을 보는 눈은 꼭짓점이 없다. 방향 잃은 감각이다. 서울 종로에 위치한 인왕산은 한 장의 그림처럼 존재한다. 수도 한성을 결정짓는 공간이었던 국사당과 김신조 루트, 장마철 비가 멈춘 후 산세를 그린 정선의 인왕제색도 이미지, 청풍계가 혼재된 이 산은 여러 시대의 불순물을 간직한 돌덩어리다. 정상에 오르면 서울 시내가 한눈에 보인다. 그러나 인왕산의 존재는 등산과 등산복에 관심 없는 이들에게 실제 경험을 던져주지 않는 텅 빈 암호일 뿐이며, 그냥 돌덩어리다. 산을 뽑아버리지 않는 이상 산은 움직이지 않는다. 부동·수직적인 산의 형태가 가진 영속성 앞에서 궁금한 것은 우리가 보고 있는 풍경을 어떻게 소화하고 있는가의 문제다.
 
no mountain high enough는 인왕산 주변의 지도를 당대 작가들의 시각으로 조망하고 재구축하려는 ‘망상’에서 시작되었다. 소화제 없이는 살기 어려울 것 같은 풍경 속에서 인왕산을 건져 올린 이 전시는 서울의 표면에 켜켜이 쌓아올린 시간과 공간을 당대적으로, 또 파편적으로 흐트러뜨린다. 전시는 338m의 바윗덩어리인 인왕산을 1:1로 지칭하는 것만은 아니다. 전시장 안팎에서 작가들이 만들어내는 작업과 글들 또한 객관적 지표로서의 산이 갖는 형상과 정보의 압축인 지도와는 다른 길을 간다. 이들이 만들어낸 인왕산 주변의 펼쳐진 지도는 하나의 기념비적인 장면으로 압축되기를 거부하며 산을 바라보거나 오르는 방향의 반대 국면을 찌르고 또 거스른다. 이 시대착오적인 산의 형식을 어떻게 소화할 것인가? 오늘날의 ‘망상’이란 어떤 것이며 이것은 인왕산이라는 장소의 테두리를 넘어 다른 어떤 무엇이 될 수 있을까. 장소와 무관한 추정과 비약하는 순간의 명멸을 지금, 여기로 불러내는 것은 아닐까. no mountain high enough는 오늘날 산의 이미지가 존재하는 방식이자 당대 이미지를 탐구하는 과정의 ‘목표 상실’에 관한 전시로 기능한다. 반어적으로, 산은 목표가 부재한 이들에게 더할 나위 없이 손쉬운 목표를 찾을 수 있는 공간이다. 산의 정상을 오르는 기간만큼은 목표 달성을 위해 끌어올린 에너지로 꼭짓점을 향해 간다.
 
작가들의 작업은 한 덩어리의 산처럼 모여있는 형국은 아니다. 대신 하산하는 자의 기억처럼 인왕산이 축적해낸 현실과 망상 곳곳에 흩어진 풍수지리를 함께 또 다르게 보여준다. 인왕산이라는 2013년의 구체적인 리얼리티의 장소에서 출발한 전시는 어쩌면 아주 멀리 가 버려 다른 이상한 산을 만들어낸 것일지 모른다. 하지만 동시에 산은 이 전시장에서 너무도 가까이 있다.

A clown writer, after Kafka’s Ein Hungerkünstle (A Hunger Artist)

Kafka’s short novel, Ein Hungerkünstle (A Hunger Artist), depicts a clown who chooses starvation as a way of life for his art, since he has no talents except performing a fast. Lee Young-June who cannot do anything but write exposes himself as a writer to the public. With the 338-meter Mt. Inwang behind him, he will write stories about 8,000-meter mountains and great human beings who conquered them, as well as ordinary people who drink soju on 700- meter mountains today. Kafka’s fasting clown eventually starves to death. Will writing be the death of Lee?

28 November, 2013, 8:30 pm

14 December, 2013, 12 pm

http://audiovisualpavilion.org/eng/uncategorized/act-1/