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Nathalie Djurberg is holding a solo exhibition ``Turn into Me'' at the Prada Transformer, Gyeonghui Palace, Seoul. / Courtesy of Prada Transformer |
 By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
After being the venue for a fashion exhibition and a cinema program, the Prada Transformer has once again been rotated to take a new form. The rotating building, designed by Rem Koolhaas and Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), is hosting an exhibition of works by rising Swedish artist Nathalie Djurberg.
Djurberg was specially chosen by Fondazione Prada, the non-profit organization devoted to contemporary art founded by Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli, for the art program at the Transformer in Seoul. Only 31, Djurberg was recently honored with the Silver Lion for the best young artist at the 53rd Venice Biennale this year.
With such high expectations, it's no wonder Djurberg looked nervous when talking about the ``Turn into Me'' exhibition during a press conference at the Seoul Museum of History, Thursday.
``I'm very happy but I'm also nervous, which I think I should be because if you are completely secure with what you do, then you don't need to do it. It was more challenging than I expected but that made it so much more interesting. I think that what comes out of sweat and tears and nervousness is the most important. As an artist, I think that if I don't have any challenges, there's no reason for me to work. In the end that's what makes it all worth it,'' she said.
If Djurberg was challenged with turning the Transformer space into something memorable and unique, visitors will also be challenged with the enigmatic installation pieces.
Upon entering the Transformer, visitors are greeted with music composed by Hans Berg to accompany Djurberg's artworks. Inside, there is a dark brown potato-like structure, a cave, and two small whales. Some of the installations have been exhibited in 2008 at the Fondazione Prada, Milan, but being displayed inside the Transformer, Djurberg's works are seen in a different light.
The interiors of the Transformer have been covered in white felt, creating a warm, womb-like atmosphere. It also served as a canvas for Djurberg's large paintings of menacing figures and two sets of creepy eyes on it, which unfortunately will be destroyed once the Transformer is rotated again for the last program.
Inside the potato and the cave pavilions, visitors can watch Djurberg's surrealist animated videos. She makes short animated films using stop motion technique, with darkly humorous and violent narratives featuring plastic grotesque figures
Fondazione Prada artistic director Germano Celant described Djurberg as a ``troublemaker,'' but smilingly added ``in a good way'' because of the risks she takes in making difficult art.
``All the videos of Nathalie are very emotional because everyone projects themselves into it. it forces you to think what is in your inside? What is your relationship with your mother, your father or your lover? All these are inside, and we are able to get inside our own body. and we are able to open up ... You enter the Transformer, which is like a womb, and you recreate yourself,'' Celant said.
Djurberg wants visitors to come up with their own interpretations of her works. The exhibition title itself ``Turn into Me'' is an invitation, Djurberg says, for people to ``enter another world of subconsicousness.''
``It is not for people to try and understand the way I look at my own art, but what's most interesting and makes me happy is when people see it and have other interpretations. Every time I hear someone's interpretation of my work, I always feel it's right, even if it may not be what I thought of in the beginning. I think one of the most beautiful thing about art is that when we make it, we also have to let it go and allow people to see it,'' Djurberg said.
The exhibition at the Prada Transformer, located beside Gyeonghui Palace, runs through Sept. 13. It is open Tuesday to Sunday 12:00 p.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free, but online reservation is needed in advance. Visit www.pradatransformer.co.kr or call (02) 737-4772.
cathy@koreatimes.co.kr
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