음소거된 물의 소리

Unmuted Water Sound
2023 - 2024

Sound Research + Exhibition
@ Gamjeo Gallery
@ Sjcgallery

Unmute Water Project is a sensory and research-based art project that begins with field research into Jeju Island’s groundwater, focusing on sensing and interpreting sounds, silences, and traces that lie beyond human hearing. Collaborating across disciplines such as sound/media art, literature, and visual anthropology, the project explores voices vulnerable to omission at the intersection of art, technology, and activism. Through exhibitions held at Gamjeo Gallery (2023) and Sanjicheon Gallery (2024), the project has shared its evolving process, with plans for continued collaboration among the participating artists. Ultimately, it seeks to foster “relational listening” and propose a listening community that transcends the boundaries between human and more-than-human beings.

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Unmute Water: A Walk in Oscillation

June 1 - July 21, 2024
Sanjicheon Gallery, 36 Jungang-ro 3-gil, Jeju-si

“The participating artists of Unmute Water: A Walk in Oscillation—Diana Band (Shin Wonjung & Yi Dooho), Oro Minkyung, and Grace Kim—conducted six months of field research across Jeju, visiting dry riverbeds, caves, and sumgol. Holding the question, “How can we hear the sound of water beneath the ground?”, they experimented with various bodily senses and listening devices to find ways of connecting with water. The journey of bringing our bodies to water’s domain was also a trembling affirmation of existence. These walks in vibration continue to flow—within the self, within relationships, and within the world—through encounters and frictions with various more-than-human beings.”

Heading Ears
I had undoubtedly been there. I had placed myself within it. It was a state where things were heard rather than listened to. To place oneself within it required a series of steps. One had to tidy every orifice of the body and, if necessary, wear a safety helmet. One had to spend over thirty seconds gazing into darkness so profound it was impossible to gauge how far it extended. Towards the body. You too may experience something being conveyed to you.

The dot that was heard
I wrote down what was heard when tapped. Before long, I came to believe the sound of water was imprinted upon it. Later, the second knuckle of my right middle finger began to throb.

‭ Curatorial Statement | Gracee Kim
I Want to Become the Sound of a Ship’s Horn | Solbi Jeon

Reflecting Stories: Jeju and the Rohingya
Workshop by Jeon Solbee & Oro Min-kyung
2024 June 30 3pm
산지천갤러리 1층

As part of this exhibition’s ongoing exploration of field research conducted across Jeju’s dry riverbeds, caves, and sumgol (air vents), this program extends the project’s inquiry into history, memory, and solidarity by inviting the lived reality of a refugee camp into the gallery space.

We welcome activists from the Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, who run a women’s community center called Santikana. These women, survivors of an ongoing genocide, will share their stories of trauma, healing, and resilience. Their voices, in dialogue with Jeju’s own painful memories, will illuminate each other—bringing together long-past and still-unfolding histories through mutual reflection. We hope this shared reflection becomes a starting point for future stories yet to be told.

This program is organized in collaboration with Asia Dignity Initiative (ADI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to documenting, supporting, and standing in solidarity with communities affected by conflict across Asia. It will also reference their upcoming June 2024 publication, “I Want to Dance but the House is Too Small”, part of their Fascicle series.

Unmute Water: The Sound of Muted Water
2023 Nov 11 – Dec 2
@ Gamjeo Gallery,

Becoming a part
Even thinking is an exercise. The stomach thinks. The brain listens. The ears speak, and love is excreted. The stone speaks to the soles of the feet. The feet answer, in a faint whisper. The shoulders hear the sunlight, the spine hears the birds. I erase my thoughts. Erasing erases me. The body becomes weight, becomes stone, becomes water.

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Unmute Water: On the Faith in Having Heard, or a Rhythm | greac Kim
물 소리 그림자 | 전솔비