Merry-Go-Round On The Street

dir. by Jaeik Kim, Korea, Republic of
runtime: 6 min

We live with daily disillusionment that is generated as our village life becomes more formalized and village streets turn into urban ones with repetitive patterns of lifestyle. To escape such disillusionment, an old and worn amusement park can be regarded as a temporary shelter of the mind, and this video work is to record short and long times of disillusionment, based on the merry-go-round shot for 24 hours straight. On a terrain clearly exposed as unpaved, there used to be flowers and trees everywhere, and people walked around freely. Over the past decades, unstructured land and informal neighborhoods have become dense with urban streets in a defenseless state, and the surface of land is filled with such tension and silence that we lose all sense of direction. While hovering around on the surface, we find ourselves going back to square one from time to time, like a merry-go-round. No matter if we are either walkers or performers while wandering about streets, we may have both senses of unfamiliarity and familiarity from our experience of various kinds of streets. Such a hybrid culture and community we face between cut-off streets come across mind like an organic whole, but they will keep tearing down and building up over and over. A particular moment felt as a milestone of time is merely a part of such process. It is because memories of senses divided in detail, not as a single identity, will be what we are able to feel at present only. Repetitive patterns of life we face along the circular road will be like light and shadow filled with tension and anxiety from the present point of view, and looking back on the space, we may find it similar to a merry-go-round on the circular street. Even at present, many of us still start walking or running along the Moebius strip-like road. All the conditions of this road are reflected on our breathtaking life on this land, and memories of time split on the space will start and end on the very circular land. *Method of Expression Both audio and video will be repeated infinitely in the frame through creation and extinction. At the same time, unknown shapes and lines exposed by time will be faced with tension and anxiety that can be felt on the circular land.

Credits

Directors: Jaeik Kim
Screenwriters: Jaeik Kim
Producers: Jaeik Kim

Mykonos Biennale 2015 - Film Festival - Merry-go-round on the street - screen shot

Directors Statement

2023, OVER THE REAL (International Video & Multimedia Art Festival), Lucca and Pietrasanta, Italy
2023, Ibrida Festival [Video Art | Experimental Video], EXATR - Emilia-Romagna, Italy
2023, ALC videoart festival, MACA Contemporary Art Museum of Alicante
2023, The things that I see, Korea Disability Arts & Culture Center (upcoming), Korea Disability Arts & Culture Center & Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
2023, DDP Open Curating, Seoul Design Foundation, Seoul Metropolitan Government, Republic of Korea
2023, SUBURBINALE, Groß-Enzersdorf, Austria
2023, Cinema Nahualli Program, Nahualli Gallery, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico
2022, Technology Convergence Showcase, Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
2022, TIMELESS AWARDS, Wrocław, Poland
2022, 13th MikroFAF, Belgrade, Yugoslav
2022, Online Media Acts, Arts Council Korea, Seoul,Republic of Korea
2022, Technology Convergence Project, Arts Council Korea, Seoul, South Korea
2022, Yangpyeong Art Lab (Individual Exhibition Support), Yangpyeong County Museum of Art, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
2022 Seoul City Wall Culture Program, Seoul City, Republic of Korea
2022, Gyeonggi Peace Plaza Cultural Project, Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
2022, 4th Contemporary Art Festival, Galerija Reflektor, Užice, Serbia
2022, MicroActs • Artist Film Screening, MicroActs, London, UK
2022, Blow-Up Arthouse Filmfest, Chicago, USA
2022, Art Road Records, Arts Council Korea, Nationwide, South Korea
2022, Preparation for supporting the creation of multiple arts, Arts Council Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea
2021, Gyeonggi Arts Convergence Project Gyeonggi Arts Convergence Project, Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
2021, Exciting Art Travel, Korea Culture and Arts Commission, Arts Council Korea, Nationwide, Republic of Korea
2021, Online Media Acts, Arts Council Korea, Seoul, Republic of Koreaa
2021, Technology Convergence Project, Arts Council Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea
2021, Seoul City Wall Culture Program, Seoul City, Republic of Korea
2021, ExperimentoBio, Bilbao, Spain
2021, Nature&Culture–International Poetry Film-Festival, Copenhagen S, Denmark
2021, The 17th Athens Digital Arts Festival “Tāctus,”, Athens Digital Arts Festival, Athens, Greece
2021, Media Creation Contest, Seoul Institute, Seoul Metropolitan Government, Republic of Korea
2021, ON MEDIA. SIGNALS AND CONNECTIONS, LoosenArtGallery, Roma, Italy
2021, INSPIRED BY WORDS, LoosenArtGallery, Roma, Italy
2021, Urban Photo Exhibition, Seoul, Republic of Korea
2021, Gyeonggi Peace Plaza Cultural Project, Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
2021, OtherMovie Lugano Film Festival, Massagno, Swiss
2021, Los Angeles Photography Awards, Los Angeles, USA
2020~2021, Gyeonggi Regional Research Project, Gyeonggi Research Center, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
2020, Creative Support Project, Seoul Cultural Foundation, Seoul Metropolitan Government
2020, Gyeonggi Public Art Project, Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
2020, Han River Public Art Project, Seoul, Republic of Korea
2020, Gyeonggi Peace Plaza Cultural Project, Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
2017, Han River Public Art Project, Seoul, Republic of Korea
2017, Artistic Work Changing Seoul, Seoul Cultural Foundation, Seoul, Republic of Korea
2016, Creative Support Project, Seoul Cultural Foundation, Seoul, Republic of Korea
2015, Han River Public Art Project, Seoul, Republic of Korea
2014, Da Vinci Creative, Seoul Cultural Foundation, Seoul City, Republic of Korea
2014, Asia Cultural Information Service Research Project, Asia Cultural Center, Gwangju City, Republic of Korea

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