What was the event about?

The two-day interactive piece that involved the re-exhibiting of Lee Kang So’s Disappearance, Bar in the Gallery (1973) as well as the collaboration of technology in art by Inter-mission, namely Urich Lan and Teow Yue Han. During the performance, there was a lot of sounds and visual stimulation via videography. This included scenes from Urban Shibuya on live Google Hangouts, scenes from the gallery itself being videoed by Teow as well as pre-recorded videos, all being toggled with. While Lan adjusted the sounds based on reactions from the live audiences.

 Teow Yue Han toggling the Live Google Hangouts from his laptop.

Teow Yue Han recording the surroundings of the gallery.

Through the performance, Lan then begins to put on gears such as gas mask, headphones and an eye mask that had two display screens facing the audience. The gears became his life support as it replaced and rendered his senses useless. The setting also involved several microphones around the area to record the sounds from day one of the event as Lan moved around with the gear, unable to see or hear his surroundings.

Urich Lan wearing his gears.

Urich Lan moving around the performance area.

Based on the conversation we had with Teow after the performance, we found out that the “Life Circuit” element of the interactive piece is due to the continuation on the second night of the two-day event. Dancers would be invited to perform live, reacting to scenes that were being recorded by Teow on the first night. Teow summarises it by telling us how day one was mostly an input and streaming of data, generating lots of footage while day two involved more of the output and stripping everything down to the bare minimum.

 

Reflections and Impressions

I think the use of Lee Kang So’s Disappearance, Bar in the Gallery (1975) piece helped to frame the interactive piece. The 1975 piece had a purpose of showcasing the problem of existence, where Lee felt that while he was with his senior at the pub drinking,

“we were there and not there at the same time”.

While he was physically present, he could envision and be immersed in another scene in which his experience would vary drastically from another individual.

Lee Kang-So, ‘Disappearance, Bar in the Gallery’, 1973, Myong-Dong Gallery, Seoul, Korea. 
Image courtesy the artist.

Similarly, to bring out such disappearance, the scene of Shibuya, an urbanised area in Japan, was chosen to bring out the comparison between something of the past, versus the current urbanisation. This suggested the element of disappearance. At the same time, the use of the gears to replace the senses of Lan also suggests a sense of him being physically present, but unable to see, hear or sense anything in the real world, allowing him to immerse and encompass into another world of his own.

The life circuit created by Lan using his devices included the two screens on his eye mask showing the different scenes while the gas mask used as a form of speakers. This further emphasises on the complete removal of senses from the performer and the idea of being present but not present as the audience and the performer may be looking at each other but they see very different things.

I was impressed with the idea and concept that they used to re-furbish this idea and exhibition piece of Lee Kang So’s Disappearance, Bar in the Gallery (1975). While conveying a similar concept, the use of technological equipment made it more relatable to current day context and engaging. At the same time, it felt more personal to me due to the removal of the senses, causing me to experience a sense of uncertainty and unknown for the performer while at the same time knowing where he was. It was also interesting to find out about the continuation of the event on the second night bringing a sense of closure for me regarding the event as it became clearer and more impactful.

References:

https://inter-mission.art/
“Disappearance”: Lee Kang-So’s 1970s works at Gallery Hyundai, Seoul – original interview extract

https://www.nationalgallery.sg/blog/happenings-at-disappearance-bar-in-the-gallery
https://www.facebook.com/events/national-gallery-singapore/happeningsdisappearance-bar-in-the-gallery-with-inter-mission/2360794190803627/