JEESOO HONG

My work is situated at the three corners of this room. There is one special way to see this work.
When I imagine this room as the body of a giant, dead whale, when a whale dies in the ocean, its body slowly sinks to the deep sea floor. Over decades, big and small animals come and go, settling and departing, until all that remains is the body skeleton, until it totally disappears. In the same way, this space, too, can be imagined as a place like a whale's body. Outside our perceptions, invisible movements, energies, humidity, smell, and cold air will come by and stay. I found here the three corners where this invisible stay can happen. I want to weave this imagination into a walk.

We will move together from this spot where we're gathered now to the first corner, then the second corner, and finally, the third corner. Here is the first corner. Here is the second corner, and there is the third corner. As we move towards each corner, our movements will carry a silence, which intensifies as we approach each corner. When we arrive at a corner, we will let the silence we've brought with us settle and remain for a while, staying still. Then, we will move on to the next corner. And we will pause in the same way, then proceed to the last, the third corner.
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Before we start, I've brought four speakers with me. I'll place each one into a pocket. Let's see who has a suitable pocket. Ah, this one looks good— may I borrow it for a moment? Is this the pocket's flap? Is it okay if I place the speaker inside with it open? Thank you. This one looks great, too— may I place it here for a moment? And the last… is this pocket empty? May I place the speaker inside? Thank you. Oh, no? That's fine. I'll find another pocket. May I borrow your pocket?
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Now, we have the speakers inside our pockets. They are quiet for now, but soon, they will begin to make sounds. The sound from the speakers will be someone's footsteps. When we hear the footstep sound, it will signal the end of our stillness and the beginning of our movement. These sounds will guide and encourage us to begin walking toward the first corner.
And when the sound from the speaker stops, we, too, will stop walking and gaze at the corner in silence, waiting until the sound of footsteps returns. When it returns, we will start walking again—toward the second corner. At the second corner, we do the same. When the sound resumes, we'll proceed toward the final corner. And then, we do the same.
Now, let's wait for the sound to emerge from our pockets.

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