The idea of the pavilion “in between water – 두물마을” is to rethink conventional approaches to art production and its forms of presentation. Understanding art as a dynamic exchange characterized by continuous transformation and interaction, the focus lies on the collaborative and communicative processes of creation in a broader sense. By creating a shared space through inviting guest artists and working together with the local art scene in Gwangju, the Longega Project initiates a transnational dialogue in the German Pavilion. Through artistic research and aesthetic thinking, forms of political and social responsibility are explored, lines between art and everyday life become blurred, and social as well as epistemological potentials of art are utilized. Collaboration and exchange play a crucial role here, since artistic practice is not an isolated activity but is embedded in social and communicative networks. Understanding art as a process brings to the fore the value of experimentation and exploration, the unknown, and the unfinished. The Gwangju Biennale, with its theme “Pansori – A Soundscape of the 21st Century” provides an appropriate framework to establish such a space of exploration.

The exhibition was curated by Longega Project in cooperation with PLATFORM Munich and Sophie-Charlotte Bombeck.

“Artistic activity is a game whose forms, patterns, and functions develop and unfold according to the epoch and social context; it is not an unchanging essence.” — Fabian Feichter, Longega Project

In an era of constant availability of material, data, and opportunities, retreating to the rugged environment of the mountains represents a conscious reduction to the fundamental conditions of life. Here, nature primarily determines the parameters for daily routines and activities. Longega is not a place in the wilderness, but rather a challenging and mystical environment that reflects more archaic aspects of mankind within its natural setting.

The collective artistic experience, encounters, and engagement in this environment create a unique stimulation, not because the surroundings make life impossible, but because they prevent life from overriding the environment. Both everyday life and artistic work are inevitably in friction with and dependent on the weather and natural rhythms.

For the past eight years, the Longega Project has invited international artists, and in particular numerous guests from South Korea, to share this experience through various group configurations.

The installation in the pavilion outlines the basic environment of the residency through seven distinct elements: a forest, a river, a hut, a field, a workshop, a campfire, and a search & collect area. Reducing the environment to these existential cornerstones encourages visitors, particularly given the international focus of the guests, to reflect on cultural habits, traditions, myths, and peculiarities, while also examining these aspects for transcultural parallels and universal themes. Everyday activities such as cooking, working, and material acquisition lead to mutual learning and self-reflection processes.

Shared leisure activities and competitive sports also lead to artistic reinterpretations of traditional rituals. The nights around the campfire invite participants to reinterpret narratives, perform songs, and create new microcosms of collective memories.

To translate the Longega concept into the exhibition space at the Gwangju History and Folk Museum, the artist collective, together with their numerous guests, developed a series of events, workshops, and performances inviting visitors to become part of the Longega experience during the exhibition period. 

The opening event, the concert “Campfire” by Kunststoffwerkstatt together with franz allein entangles musical and archaic elements with storytelling. The activation performance “Tuning Forks for the Edaphone” by Nele Ka, Oliver Haussmann and Fabian Feichter emphasizes the connection to the soil’s underworld, using sound and vibration to address the deeper relationship with nature and its invisible processes. The “Hanji-Forest Workshop” for children by Sul Park conveys the diversity of the forest and ecological connections.

An audio guide accompanies the exhibition and invites visitors to engage with the artworks on emotional, intellectual, and practical levels. The audio recordings create additional space for personal discoveries, allowing visitors to explore the exhibition at their own pace and according to their individual interests.