***UNFOLLOW Fest provides sensory escape in Paju BookCity
Taiwan's Meuko! Meuko! / Courtesy of Meuko! Meuko!
By Jon Dunbar
The Paju-based art studio
is organizing its first art and music festival in Paju, northern Gyeonggi Province, this Saturday and Sunday, in cooperation with the
.
offers various experimental art projects around Paju BookCity, highlighting electronic dance music and audiovisual performances. It brings together international acts including Swiss electronic artist Aisha Devi, Belgian-Congolese queen of the hard dance Nkisi and the Taiwan underground's rising Meuko! Meuko!, as well as domestic underground artists such as local music maniac Yamagata Tweakster, who will lead a parade with his unique mobile music act.
Also involved are experimental techno party brand
and Itaewon club
, which organize the late-night party starting at 1 a.m. featuring DJs and electronic musicians from Korea and Japan.
is also involved, streaming live showcases early on by DJ Bowlcut and Net Gala.
Aisha Devi / Courtesy of Kimchi and Chips
“From working in the arts with Kimchi and Chips, we often feel that there is a gap in the way that art is represented,” said Elliot Woods, co-founder of Kimchi and Chips. “Generally it is represented either in institutions like museums, or by commercial entities like traditional music festivals. We wanted to build something from the ground up which used our knowledge of how to produce art and our taste for how art can meet the audience.”
The second day starts at 2 p.m. The Salon Program has many of the previous day's performers including Devi, Nkisi and Yamagata Tweakster's Hahn Vad leading discussions and giving talks. A panel discussion will also be held on contemporary club culture in Seoul. Remi Klemensiewicz and Bae In-sook will also perform between talks. This Salon Program is held inside Myung Films Art Center, in the same cinema room where the Palme d'Or-winning movie “Parasite” had its final mastering and test-screenings.
“UNFOLLOW is about letting go of your identity temporarily,” Woods said. “We find that many people are now trying to reinforce the identity that they already have. They might do that by engineering a profile of themselves online, or simply by restricting themselves to activities they already identify with. With problems like Brexit back where I am from ― where Britain is having an identity crisis ― we feel that people might be better off by putting their identities to rest for a while, and just allowing themselves to experience afresh without the baggage of who we think we are.”
The festival is held in cooperation with Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation, Paju BookCity, Myung Film, RYSE Hotel and Jeju-based beermaker Magpie Brewing.
Belgian-Congolese queen of the hard dance Nkisi / Courtesy of Kimchi and Chips
Kimchi and Chips was founded in 2009 by Mimi Son of Korea and Elliot Woods of the U.K. It is known for its research-based approach. The Austrian cultural, educational and scientific institute Ars Electronica gave them its Award of Distinction in 2017 for their "Light Barrier 3rd Edition,” which featured eight architectural video projectors split into 630 sub-projectors using a structure of differently shaped concave mirrors.
Shuttle buses are available for those returning to Seoul at 1:30 a.m., 3 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., dropping off in the Hapjeong area. A deal has been worked out with local guesthouse Jijihyang offering discounted rooms for UNFOLLOW ticket holders.
“We are hoping many people aim to spend the weekend in Paju BookCity,” Woods said. “There are many incredible places here ― hidden theaters, winding book shops which go on forever, beautiful museums lit only by natural light, gorgeous cafes, hiking trails up the mountain, and the whole town is an architectural pilgrimage site with consistent beautiful architecture throughout. This festival was created firstly to bring a new audience to those spaces.”
. Ticket purchasers for the
(PFMF) receive discounts. PFMF, also run by PaTI, is held Saturday from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. also in Paju BookCity, with acts including DJ Soulscape, Akimbo and Doma.