Mother Crowns of Neo-Joseon
Sculpture series, kinetic shadow installation, film - Welded steel, treated surface and black paint, motors. Incheon Art Platform, Korea. Tate Modern, UK. Seoul Culture Station 284, Korea, Asian Culture Centre, Korea (2014-17).
A project by The Bite Back Movement (Alexander Augustus and Seung youn Lee).
Over three years myself and artist Seung youn Lee researched and worked with Korean shamans to create 9 welded steel crowns and slippers for 9 functions of the Mu-Dang (Shamans). These are imagined in the futuristic year of 2100 AD. We have collaborated with actual Shamans on this project who sing, dance and perform with the objects. They are wearable, but they also cast gigantic shadow installations which form the costume and set for the performer.
Koreans say that the Mu-Dang have their heads in heaven with the Gods, their feet on the ground with the earth and their body dances in-between for the people. For this reason we made Crowns for theological functions and slippers for human functions.
Sister project to OH MY GODS : Chonsa and OH MY GOD : The Burning Couple.
The Crown of Ghosts
Round, and round, and round.
Madam Shaman repeats the chant over and over until the restless spirits are sucked into a black hole and pass to the afterlife. “BE GONE GHOST!'“ She is a ghost hunter.
This crown is modelled on a traditional Korean hat and is formed from the text of the chant repeated in a spiral. It rotates on a motor in the exhibition space to hypnotise ghosts.
The Crown of Ghosts (2015)
The Crown of Numbers
The world runs on numbers and Madam Shaman is your champion!
Are you a warrior? Or are you just cattle? Numbers, ranking, money will all determine this. Put money in Madam Shaman’s shoes and she will intervene on your behalf. This Crown is part warrior helmet, part cow mask, and entirely formed with Pujok - charms and incantations you can buy for good fortune. The Slippers are piggy banks you can insert money into.
From the film “The Crown of Numbers“
The Crowns of Timespace
Mother Time and Daughter Space are always together. The Time Crown and Slippers are sharp like a knife because they cut through space. The eyes spiral and see through layers and dimensions of space. The Space Slippers are calendars - 365 holes are organised into the days of the year, clock faces show hours and minutes of the day.
Space can be minuscule, or gigantic - the Space Crown depicts microscopic cells, up until the constellations of the planets. The markers show the elements which make these up (also on the Korean flag). The Space Shoes show the balancing energy through space, yin and yang, and Madam Shaman must tread carefully to align them always.
Crown and Slippers of Time
Crown of Time
Slippers of Time
The Crown and Slippers of Space
The Crown of Space
