Titled soft and weak like water, the exhibition’s Daoist theme will serve as both a thread linking various artistic practices and a conceptual proposition inspiring new productions. From Yokohama-based artist Meiro Koizumi’s research on the diasporic history of ethnic Korean group, Koryo-in, to Bangkok-based filmmaker Taiki Sakpisit’s documentation of communities along Mekong River, the flow of water brings together discussions of migration, resilience and regeneration, as well as political and ecological symbiosis.
The Biennale will unfold across the city of Gwangju and bring conversations to the social, historical, and architectural contexts of its various venues, including the Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Hall, Gwangju National Museum, community art space Horanggasy Artpolygon, Buddhist temple Mugaksa and Artspace House. The opening weekend (7–8 April) will also feature a symposium co-hosted by the Gwangju Biennale Foundation and Hyundai Tate Research Centre.
The final list of artists is: Larry Achiampong, Abbas Akhavan, Farah Al Qasimi, Mamma Andersson, Tarek Atoui, melanie bonajo, Bakhyt Bubikanova, Hera Büyüktaşcıyan, Edgar Calel, María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Chang Jia, Huong Dodinh, Latifa Echakhch, Cheol-woo Gu, Taloi Havini, James T. Hong, Hong Lee Hyun Sook, Sky Hopinka, IkkibawiKrrr, Arthur Jafa, Tess Jaray, Jeoung Jae Choul, Anne Duk Hee Jordan, Yeon-gyun Kang, Naiza Khan, Yuki Kihara, Christine Sun Kim, Kira Kim, Kim Kulim, Minjung Kim, Soun-Gui Kim, Kim Youngjae, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Meiro Koizumi, Abdoulaye Konaté, Chila Kumari Singh Burman, Lee Kun-Yong, Seung-ae Lee, Seung-taek Lee, Kim Lim, Candice Lin, Tanya Lukin Linklater, Liu Jianhua, Taus Makhacheva, Guadalupe Maravilla, Noé Martínez, Mataaho Collective, Mayunkiki, Alan Michelson, Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, Naeem Mohaiemen, Yuko Mohri, Betty Muffler, Aliza Nisenbaum, Lucia Nogueira, Suk-kuhn Oh, Oh Yoon, Oum Jeongsoon, Pan Daijing, Pangrok Sulap, Sopheap Pich, Abel Rodríguez, Taiki Sakpisit, Mmakgabo Helen Sebidi, Angélica Serech, Thasnai Sethaseree, Dayanita Singh, Buhlebezwe Siwani, Emilija Škarnulytė, Vivian Suter, Yuma Taru, Charwei Tsai, Judy Watson, Alberta Whittle, Santiago Yahuarcani, I-Lann Yee, Yu Jiwon, Robert Zhao Renhui, David Zink Yi.