July 30- Oct 9, 2022
This exhibition also launches the ReflectSpace Gallery Residency Program
Glendale Library, Arts & Culture and ReflectSpace Gallery are proud to present Modes of Resistance: Legacies of Colonialism and “Comfort Women” a trans-disciplinary exhibit co-curated by Monica Hye Yeon Jun and Ara & Anahid Oshagan, and including work by Korean artists Han Ho, Jin-woo Kim, Bora Lee and In-sang Kwak. The exhibit will run from July 30 to October 9, 2022.
Modes of Resistance commemorates and pays homage to both the former “Comfort Women” who were forced into sexual slavery, and the afterlives of Japanese colonial rule and subsequent wars in Korea—the effects of which are still felt nearly 70 years later. The four artists imagine new modes to speak to this legacy of violence and through their work seek pathways of resistance and healing. In the PassageWay gallery, reproductions of paintings of former “Comfort Women” from artist Duk Kyung Kang will be on display.
An opening reception for Modes of Resistance will be held in the ReflectSpace Gallery on Saturday, July 30t at 5pm. The reception will begin with a ribbon cutting ceremony and a walkthrough of the exhibit, followed by a commemoration ceremony in the Central Library Auditorium with a Korean drumming performance and cultural program by the Hwarang Youth Foundation.
Prior to and during World War II, more than 200,000 young women and girls from Korea, Taiwan, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and East Timor were sexually enslaved by the Japanese Imperial Military. Despite the brutality of their situation, these women are universally referred to as “Comfort Women.”
Artist Han Ho’s Eternal light - 21c The Last Judgment addresses epic metaphysical issues. The large multi-panel work is drawn from Michelangelo's masterpiece, The Last Judgment. Han Ho’s work riffs off Michelango’s core idea of good and evil, constructing the afterimage of mankind as exposed to the dangers of colonization, violence and nuclear annihilation.
In Search of the Lost Heart by Jin-woo Kim is a re-imagining of the greatest military creation in Korean history, transformed into a symbol of resistance to Japanese colonialism and violence. Kim’s ship is formidable and color-laden and carries the silhouettes of a young woman and a butterfly on its tower and interactive with LED lights that are activated based on a motion sensor placed in the ship’s tower.
Bora Lee’s <Tower, Castle, Storm> is made of fabric and consists in overlapping and repeatedly dispersing lines and lineages. Her work takes shape along a thin and invisible line between memory and anxiety and speaks to much of recent Korean history.
In-sang Kwak participates in Modes of Resistance with a digital media augmented reality project. The mobile-device activated project depicts the back of a young women next to an empty chair—echoing the Comfort Women statue in Glendale.
The four Korean artists in Modes of Resistance create work deeply entrenched in the history of colonization, women’s rights, slavery and social issues while also reflecting on the urgencies of resistance today. The exhibition is supported by Korean Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Women's Human Rights Institute of Korea, and Research Institute on Japanese Military Sexual Slavery.
ReflectSpace Gallery launches Residency Program
As part of a pilot Open Studio Residency program at ReflectSpace, Han Ho and Jin-woo Kim will be artist in residence at ReflectSpace July 23 – 28. They will be working on their art projects and library patrons are encouraged to observe their work and interact with the artists. The ReflectSpace Open Studio schedule is available at reflectspace.org.
The launch of the ReflectSpace Art Residency program will take place in July 2022 with the first two artists in the space from Korea. Multimedia and sculptural artists, Han Ho and Jin-woo Kim, will be in residence for six days at the ReflectSpace Annex (adjacent to the gallery) creating new works.
The public is invited to observe and interact with the artists at these times:
Day Time
Saturday, July 23 12-4 pm
Monday, July 25 12-3 pm
Tuesday, July 26 3-6 pm
Wednesday, July 27 12-3 pm
Thursday, July 28 3-6 pm
ReflectSpace Gallery
Glendale Central Library
222 East Harvard Street
Glendale, CA 91205
Hours:
Mondays-Thursdays, 9am-9pm
Fridays & Saturdays, 9am-6pm
Sunday, 1pm - 6pm