MONUMENTAL MEDIA ART

“Embrace of Lights” by artist Ligyung

@ Arcades du Cinquantenaire, Brussels

November 16 - 22, 2023 / 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and the European Union

Opening of the event

November 16 at 7:00 p.m.

@ Arcades du Cinquantenaire, Brussels

in the presence of the artist Ligyung

with the musical performance of Sumi JO & Dominique CORBIAU

The Korean Cultural Center of Belgium and the European Union is organizing a special Media Art event to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and the EU.

This luminous work of art will be projected on the Arcades du Cinquantenaire in Brussels, located in the European Quarter, from November 16 to 22, every evening from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Through this event, artist Ligyung will present her unpublished work “Embrace of Lights”, symbolizing harmony, peace, friendship and the future between Korea and the EU.

If the Arcades du Cinquantenaire constitute the European canvas, Ligyung’s work is the Korean dress. This project highlights the solidarity and harmony between Korea and the European Union (EU) by projecting a dynamic monumental artwork onto the iconic structure of the Arcades du Cinquantenaire in Brussels, where the headquarters of the EU. By developing a creation of digital projections on the Arcades du Cinquantenaire, Korean artist Ligyung creates a symbol of the fusion of art and contemporary technology. Her project symbolically reveals cultural exchanges and visually transmits a message of future and hope.

In addition to celebrating the friendship between Korea and the EU, there is a double meaning that congratulates the 130th anniversary of the "Arts Nouveaux". The artist expresses her admiration for the "Arts Nouveaux" by projecting the figures of the New Arts onto the Cinquantenaire monument. In this six-minute work, the artist uses fragments of flags, for example the stars of the European flag and the features and elements of the Korean flag. Additionally, abstract images inspired by Korea and Europe will be well presented throughout the six minutes.

The music that accompanies the work is very significant; the artist creates a marriage between the style of traditional Korean music ‘Bak’, ‘Daegeum’, with European classical musiic such as a piece of Handel, ‘Passacaglia’. From the middle of the work, two excellent voices, Soprano Sumi JO (Korea) and counter tenor Dominique Corbiau (Belgium) will be superimposed in harmony until the end.

This project highlights the cultural bond between Korea and the EU by providing a diverse cultural experience to citizens of Belgium and tourists from around the world, thereby strengthening cooperation in the fields of art and cultural industry, promoting mutual understanding and the development of close relationships, and highlighting the importance of cooperation in artistic and cultural exchanges on an emblematic Brussels monument within the EU.

Ligyung

Ligyung was invited twice by the French Hermès Foundation to the Ginza Maison Hermès le Forum in Tokyo. Her solo exhibitions have attracted the largest number of visitors since the founding of the foundation, notably during the official exhibition “Paik Nam-joon x Ligyung” at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in 2018. Active on the international scene, she creates large-scale works that awaken the artistic imagination and express the sublime through light and sound. She participated as an artist representative of South Korean contemporary art at the ZKM in Germany, the Gwangju Biennale, the Busan Biennale and the National Museum of Contemporary Art (MMCA).