LIVE Performances at Frieze Seoul 2024

The inaugural edition of Frieze LIVE at Frieze Seoul 2024 curated by Jeyun Moon (Deputy Director, Art Sonje Center), features five performances by seven artists.

Titled 신·경(神經) – ‘Nerve or Divine Pathway’ – the Frieze LIVE programme explores the potential of poetry as an impetus for performance art. Reflecting our current socio-political landscape, where radical politics often exploit or diminish the power of language, these performances emphasize the transformative power of poetic speech through the human body itself, suggesting new possibilities for communication.  

The title  is a play on words referencing the layered meanings in traditional Chinese characters 신·경(神經), which can be translated as ‘nerve’ or ‘divine pathway’. This mirrors the artistic strategies used in the performances, which seek to expand syntax while directly engaging our senses, to produce fresh inspiration (영감:靈感). 

Featured Artists:

• Cha Yeonså reinterprets Buddhist rituals by offering a ‘soul bath’ to both the dead and the living, inspired by the poetry of Kim Eon Hee.
• Hong Ji Young documents the ‘sleep’ of those who have lost faith in the future, with motionless nude bodies of performers seen through the lens of camera.  
• Jang Sumi’s participatory performance explores the intricacies of social networks.
• Jesse Chun explores the process of ‘unlanguaging’, through abstract scores that deconstruct traditional Korean folk music and dance.
• Kim Wonyoung & Project YYIN (Rha Sinae, Choi Kisub) reimagine Yvonne Rainer’s Trio A (1968) with performers in wheelchairs.

LIVE Performance Schedule:

Wednesday, September 4

16:00 – Hong Ji Young  

18:00 – Jang Sumi  

22:00 – Jesse Chun*  

* Jesse Chun’s performance takes place at the courtyard of Gallery Hyundai in Samcheong-dong.

Thursday, September 5 

12:00 – Kim Wonyoung x Project YYIN  

16:00 – Kim Wonyoung x Project YYIN  

Friday, September 6 

16:00 – Cha Yeonsä  

Saturday, September 7  ​​​​

16:00 – Jang Sumi    

Frieze LIVE 2024 is presented in partnership with DYAD, a private members’ club launching in the heart of Cheongdam in 2025. 

Further Information

Frieze Seoul, COEX, 4 – 7 September 2024.

Limited tickets for Frieze Seoul are now on sale – don’t miss out, buy yours now. Alternatively, become a member to enjoy premier access, multi-day entry, exclusive guided tours and more.

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A dedicated online Frieze Viewing Room opens in the week before the fair, offering audiences a first look at the presentations and the ability to engage with the fair remotely. 

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^{Main image: Cha Yeonså, 황혼이 질 때면, 2024. Photo: Cha Yeonså}