Classic and New 古典と新作

Employing photography and video as his main medium, JUNG Yeondoo (1969-) produces works based on his communication with the people he encounters in various places. Through his practice, Jung focuses on visualizing important things within our lives that cannot be seen, such as memories, dreams, and unfulfilled desires. The unique world of his work in which fiction and reality coalesce, in turn gives rise to a new reality and sheds light upon the everyday goings on of ordinary people, and specific scenes with their lives. Classic and New is a work that was conceived through various exchanges with people living in the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo’s surrounding area of Kiyosumi Shirakawa. The videos projected across three large screens connect together to form a single footage, or at times are played alternatively in interplay with one another, creating a sense of harmony. Inspired by this video work, drawings tracing the now obsolete scenery of the area had also been produced. Centering on an old man’s account of his childhood memories during the war, lively footage of children living today, and a “Rakugo” performer who plays the role of a narrator connecting all elements together, what unfolds is a story with no specific scenario, all the while interwoven with scenes from the surrounding area. What come to be observed are generation gaps, bonds between parents and children, and a childlike gaze that are common to any era. At the same time it presents a contrast between children who had lived in fear during the war, and the enriched and peaceful lives of children today, thus reminding us of how peace itself harbors the danger of being threatened in a mere instant. While telling the story of Kiyosumi Shirakawa, the work manifests as a universal tale of the life that has continued to be inherited over the times. The sound of the Japanese drums played by children echo like the pulsations of life, and the streaming flow of the river appears reminiscent of the life cycle that has been passed down for generations.