The Museum of Art is housed in a modern building in Gwangju, the sixth largest city of South Korea.  Gwangju is perhaps best known for its River Reading Room, designed by David Adjaye.  Probably little-known here in London, the museum has an extensive programme of events, residencies and activities to support local artists and enable them to become exposed to international audiences.

Six artists are now on show at the Korea Cultural Centre, a stone’s throw from Trafalgar Square in London, along with a kinetic installation by Earl Park, Saza Kim and Jeongsik Bae to highlight Gwangju as an UNESCO Media Arts Creative City, part of the growing UNESCO network of Creative Cities established in 2004.

The title ‘Circular Metaphor’ represents ‘an artistic composition of circulation and communication between nature and humankind as, well as a process of healing.’  (Minkyeong Kim, Curator, Gwangju Museum of Art)

If there is a theme to the different works, it is the sustainable future of the planet, its natural environment and its people impacted by increased industrialisation, death, rebirth as Kikyun Jung, Jeonglok Lee, Jeongju Jeong, Sehee Sarah Bark, Sanghwa Park use different technologies to explore different facets of our changing world, sometimes quite spiritual, while the ACC Video Archives provides further examples of the creative work in Gwangju.