Seoul reports
Dutch artist Heidi Vogels stays for a three-month residency at SSamzie Space in Seoul. Read here her weekly updated report on her experiences.
Week 1: Introduction
Week 1: "This is the first week of a three-month residency at SSamzie Space in Seoul. I arrived the 4th of April, the time of spring and so the time of the blossoms. Ssamzie Space is a non-profit organization set up by a fashion company to provide artists studio spaces in time of the economical crisis in 1997. Many alternative art spaces in Seoul originated from that time..."
[Experiences]: Week 1: Introduction
week 2: A refreshing drink
Week 2: "Already after one and half week, blossoms are making place for fresh green leaves. The streets are changing their looks. As I heard it is unusually warm for the time of year. Many knots are bursting and bright pink, red and white flowers are coming up in the parks..."
Week 3: The correct sounds for the instruction of the people
Week 3:" Yes You can learn Korean language structure in 40 minutes. This is one of the books Ive been studying the last week. The Korean alphabet Hangeul is one of the most efficient and easy languages in the world. Though I seem to have a blind spot for the phonetic order and spelling, so these 40 minutes seem a bit optimistic."
Week 3: The correct sounds for the instruction of the people
Week 4-5: The countryside
Week 4: "Last week it was parents day in Korea. All boys and girls pick up the flower baskets in the streets to surprise their parents. A week before that it was 'childrens day', a very important national holiday. Generally people enjoy only around 12 free days a year, so the national holidays are a welcome treat.."
Week 6-7: Fleeting time
week 6-7:"In the race of becoming a first class economy the different textures of urban development in Seoul are disappearing rapidly. Offices, shopping malls, officetels (office+hotel, implying an apartment with a few more amenities at a bit of a higher cost), rise in hasty optimism. Few places are left that contain a different feel of past time..."
week 8: Night views
week 8: " I believe the night has something truly special in Seoul. At night the streets look more spacious and the neon lights shine their gloomy colors..."
Week 9-10: Counting the days
Week 9-10: "The presentation last thursday was well visited by Seoul curators and critics. While picking numbers to decide the order of presentations by the artists, it appeared that at the end of the day the critics become critical when the atmosphere loosens up..."
Week 11-12: Goodbye for now
Week 11-12: "The last weeks I have closed my research for the project I presented at the studio presentation at Ssamzie Space, June 28."
