Exhibition Poster © 5.18 Memorial Cultural Center

The 5.18 Memorial Foundation (Chairman: Jung Dong-nyeon) presents the youth-curated exhibition 《On the Road》, which runs from April 4 to June 8. Curated by Sansusari (Kim Minji and Kim Hanra), the exhibition features works by five artists: Ahn Sungseok, Jiyoung Yoon, Yoon Taejun, Lee Eunyoung, and Jung Hangyul. The exhibition stems from a critical awareness of the ambiguous perception and attitude of younger generations toward the May 18 Democratic Uprising, attributing this phenomenon to broader social conditions.
 
Curators Kim Minji and Kim Hanra of Sansusari noted, “This phenomenon mirrors the military regime’s concealment of events and suppression of public discourse in May 1980. Although May 18 was officially recognized as a national commemoration day in 1997, misinformation and distortion continue to circulate, exacerbating the pain of those who experienced the uprising and causing confusion and misinterpretation among younger generations. With this exhibition, we seek to address the challenge of an aging firsthand witness generation, and as history becomes the responsibility of those who did not experience it, we ask: What can we say? How can visual art and text—both inherently flat and interpretive—engage with this history?”
 
《On the Road》 begins with a physical space shared by both the firsthand and non-experienced generations—the streets of Gwangju. Walking through or observing these streets, the participating artists reinterpret their discoveries through personal reflections and bodily expressions, transforming them into a new visual language. The curators explain, “By shifting the weight of historical discourse from 1980 to the present moment in which this exhibition takes place, we reaffirm the position and agency of the speakers of today.”
 
The curators further note, “As regional boundaries blur, younger generations feel increasingly detached from the location of historical events. Many non-experienced individuals, regardless of their place of birth, distance themselves from history, seeing themselves as outsiders. To challenge the perception that the May 18 Democratic Uprising belongs solely to the people of Gwangju, we aimed to present diverse perspectives by including artists from various regions, including Seoul, Gwangju, and Gyeongsan.”

윤지영, 〈달을보듯이보기〉, 2013-2014, 단채널비디오, 퍼포먼스, 2분45초 © 윤지영

Participating artist Ahn Sungseok explores the question of whether the concept of the “square” as a symbolic space for democracy remains relevant today. Through photo montages and a single-channel video work, Ahn questions the role of public squares in contemporary and future generations, examining whether they will continue to function as spaces of communal solidarity or whether individuals will seek alternative paths beyond collective movements.
 
Jiyoung Yoon presents Seeing things the Way We See the Moon, a performance video in which she entrusts her safety entirely to the actions and timing of others assisting her. Through this work, she examines structures that justify cycles of sacrifice and interrogates the normalization of such systemic exchanges. Additionally, her work There is No Developmental Net of a Sphere explores how non-experienced generations perceive and construct historical knowledge through indirect, intuitive means.
 
Yoon Taejun employs photography and 3D imagery to depict flowers, fire, fruits, and hands—symbolic elements that serve as metaphors for the May 18 Democratic Uprising and its participants. His work particularly focuses on the unresolved grief surrounding the missing individuals whose bodies were never recovered, offering a unique visual approach to remembrance and mourning.
 
Lee Eunyoung, as a member of the non-experienced generation, reflects on the fragmented historical narratives she encountered in textbooks, the present-day Gwangju she visited as an adult, and the firsthand testimonies she later read. Her work questions what has been erased or forgotten and reconstructs these absences through metonymic representations.
 
Jung Hangyul investigates traces of the May 18 Democratic Uprising that remain scattered throughout Gwangju. His work processes images of historical sites and monuments, along with texts from eyewitness testimonies and archival records, highlighting the passage of time and the gradual erosion of collective memory.
 
Lastly, curators Kim Minji and Kim Hanra conclude, “We have stood before May 18 in Gwangju and must now carry its history forward with clear voices. Regardless of birthplace, the present and future will ultimately be defined by non-experienced generations. We hope that this history does not become enshrined or dismissed as a relic of the past but continues to engage current and future generations through active discourse.”
 
The exhibition runs until June 8.

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