PLAYPANOPTICON

April 19th(Thur), 2012 ~ May 17th(Thur), 2012
10:00am ~ 06:00pm
Seoul Art Space GEUMCHEON (333-7, Docksan-dong, Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, Korea)

Artists (3rd Residence Artists)
- Quentin Cornet (France)
- Gabriel Rico Jimenez (Mexico)
- Les Joynes (US)
- Linh Nguyen (Vietnam)
- James Robert Southard (US)
- Adam Thompson (UK)
- Jody Wood (US)

Seoul Art Space GEUMCHEON is pleased to present PLAYPANOPTICON the exhibition includes works made by seven international artists from France, Mexico, the United States, Vietnam, and the United Kingdom who have been guests of the Seoul Art and Culture Foundation and Seoul Art Space GEUMCHEON January-May, 2012. The artists are Quentin Cornet(France), Gabriel Rico Jimenez(Mexico), Les Joynes(US), Linh Nguyen(Vietnam), James Robert Southard(US), Adam Thompson(UK), and Jody Wood(US). The word, PLAYPANOPTICON is a new term created by the artists that represents the artists' multiple viewpoints and perspectives within varied contexts in Korea. The term, 'Panopticon' comes from a discourse by Michel Foucault(1926~1984), which explores panoptic surveillance systems created in a modern society that extend to realms beyond their intended scope. Columbia University art historian, Jonathan Crary addresses this in his book, Techniques of the Observer on Vision and Modernity in the Nineteenth Century, (MIT Press, 1992), that beyond the scope of the panopticon in modern times, the subject of viewing should be individuals, who in turn monitor the entire society, which may be allowed to monitor the subjects of the panopticon. As Walter Benjamin said, the individuals should be not onlookers - but observers. PLAYPANOPTICON creates a new interpretation on the Panopticon and observation leading us as objective viewers to act as observers and players/ activators.