Now, Let’s Dance Sufi!

Seul Bi Lee(Independent Curator, Director of Mi Hak Gwan)

The Sufi dance, originated from the religious practice of Sufism, enters a state of trance when reaching the climax of the dance while surrendering the body to the divine-absolute. At this point, humans experience union with the divine, encountering the ecstasy of transcendence. Trance reproduces the state beyond the distinction between subject and object, as a state without an immutable essence, without fixed frameworks or boundaries, reenacting the 'technique of ecstasy.' 《𝑳𝒆𝒕'𝒔 𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑺𝒖𝒇𝒊!》 expands the dance derived from religious propositions into a performance of contemporary art, unpacking the aesthetic implications of performance and shamanism from various perspectives. In this exhibition, performers pursue union with the divine and reaching ecstasy and trance, are and connect with shamans, who practice rituals mediating between the divine and humans, humans and non-humans, animals and objects, thereby reinterpreting contemporary art performances and artists from the perspective of archetypal shamans.

The exceptional shaman embodies a performance that is both priestly and theatrical, artistic yet simultaneously captivating the audience. This mirrors the attitude of artists who reveal the heterogeneity of reality in their own language. Like ritualists, they sometimes perform rituals to connect humans and non-humans, soothe someone else's sorrow, or lend an ear to others' stories. They also pay attention to things beyond humans or focus on phenomena that others easily overlook. Yet, at the same time, they themselves may be marginalized by society.

This exhibition began in 2022 with a project of the same name, 《𝑳𝒆𝒕'𝒔 𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑺𝒖𝒇𝒊!》. The project aimed to expand the ‘dance’ derived from religious propositions into a performance of contemporary art and to transform it into a form of bodily movement transcription, known as 'écriture'. Performance, as one of the genres of contemporary visual arts, is a kind of event characterized by its immediacy and simultaneity. Performances composed of movements and gestures are usually recorded on video, replayed, and presented in exhibition spaces or saved as records. In this project, aiming to expand the recording format of such performances, like sheet music, the form of ‘dance notes (mubo in Korean)’ was borrowed. This was to extend the possibilities of recording the techniques of ecstasy in religious propositions and the potential for documenting performances.

In fact, despite being essentially synonymous – scores and mubo - in terms of ‘recording the movement,’ the author proposed using the expression to the participating artists. Although scores have been extensively researched in academia as a system for recording dance, there still remains considerable difficulty in precisely defining what they are. Moreover, by distinguishing mubo from scores used for recording dance or choreography, the unfamiliarity associated with the term might actually defer us from establishing a specific, conventional concept. Mubo has been passed down since the late Joseon dynasty, and among them, there is the ‘siyongmubo’, which meticulously recorded the movements and sequences of the dance performed at the Jongmyo Rituals. This particular dance note illustrates what movements should be performed according to the music and how long they should be sustained. With this in mind, the following questions arose before proceeding with the production of dance notes for recording performances.

① What is a score? What is (also) mubo? ② How do dance, choreography, dance, movement, and performance differ? ③ To what extent can (the performance) be recorded, (exactly) where can it be recorded? ④ What aspects (of the performance) do you (intend to emphasize) record? ⑤ How will you convey it to (the viewers/readers)? ⑥ Will someone who reads/view mubo and reproduces it exactly (really) end up dancing the same dance? ⑦ Is it possible to (truly) reproduce exactly as it is read/viewed? ⑧ If (perfect reproduction of mubo is) possible, can it be called the same performance? ⑨ If (perfect reproduction of mubo is) impossible, what is the role of mubo? ⑩ A mubo (excessively) written in private language, who is it for? ⑪ Experience of ecstasy is entirely subjective (completely known only to oneself, and even that cannot be described in words) phenomenon. How can this be conveyed (through recording)? ⑫ Is it (really) possible to experience ecstasy? ⑬ Recording something is a kind of system (created by excessively rational thinking), but does it make sense to record the (most emotional, even the loss of reason) experience of ecstasy? And so on.

These questions not only transcend the peculiar experience of ecstasy or the genre-specific nature of performance, but raise issues such as emotion and reason, experience and perception, body and embodiment, recording and transmission, simultaneity and absence. However, it was soon concluded, somewhat irresponsibly, that providing precise answers to them is impossible.

Thus, 《𝑳𝒆𝒕'𝒔 𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑺𝒖𝒇𝒊!》 explored the '(im)possibility of recording' performances through mubo in 2022, while in 2023, it focused on shamanism, the technique of ecstasy, and the movements of performance itself, culminating in an exhibition. Embracing all these (im)possibilities, now, let’s dance Sufi!

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The Ghost Group follows the trance-like movements as the opening performance of this exhibition. Trance, which is a type of abnormal awakening state, occurs when one is extremely focused or immersed in something, characterized by relaxation in parts of the mind or body other than where the focus lies. Interpreting this state, where intense focus and relaxation occur simultaneously, as a different kind of 'wakefulness', the Ghost Group expresses it physically. Kwon Lyon Eun participates in the exhibition with a work called 〈Old Performance〉, a remake of the performance 〈Seogi 0000〉 presented at the 40th anniversary archive project 'Platform of the Night' at the Arko Arts Theater in 2021. Starting from 'Samjaemakgi,' she aims to derive similar results through imitation of objects or phenomena. The climax of the performance consists of actions such as 'burning,' 'burying,' 'throwing away,' and 'throwing.' Additionally, the exhibition features 〈Choreography Notes and Scores for 'Old Performance’〉 (2023).

Inside the circular space of the exhibition hall, Dew Kim's 〈Stations of the Cross〉 (2022-23) is displayed. ‘Stations of the Cross’ refers to the final hours of Jesus' suffering and death, typically depicted in sculptures or paintings consisting of a total of 14 stations. Drawing inspiration from this, Kim presents a work of the same name. Connecting voguing dance hand gestures with 14 hand sculptures that reveal the last moments of Jesus through hand movements until his crucifixion and death, Kim reinterprets the religious symbolism of Jesus' hand gestures within the cultural context of voguing dance, which originated from queer culture, including African American and Latino LGBTQ communities, in Harlem from the 1960s to the late 1980s. In doing so, Kim offers a reinterpretation of the religious symbolism of Jesus' hand gestures within the culural soil of voguing dance, which symbolizes queer identity.

Youngzoo IM’s 〈Waiting M〉 (2021-22) revisits the prophecy from the popular 1990s Korean drama 'M,' where the protagonist with green eyes predicts that humanity will face its end due to a virus. Just as countless apocalyptic prophecies that have passed through humanity come to an end every December 31st with the ‘bell-ringing ceremony’ and usher in a new year, 〈Waiting M〉 consists of voices, images, and stories shared by people waiting for the end of the world, reflecting on death. Additionally, 〈Calming Signal〉 (2023), newly presented in this exhibition, begins with observations of the behavioral patterns of anxious dogs. From the perspective of humans attempting to communicate by interpreting the actions of dogs as their 'language,' dogs often exhibit behaviors such as circling around or choosing a spot when stressed or in an anxious situation. IM saw these signals exhibited by dogs as similar to humans dancing. The gestures of humans tamed by gods, their intentional movements, are not only the most basic act of dancing but also the principle of Sufi dance. The video captures and records the anxious movements of dancers performing Sufi dance.

Yohan Hàn and Chak have been collaborating and synchronizing through performances, using body, dance, movement, sensation, social media chat platforms, and the resonance of sound. After the 《Let's Dance Sufi!》 workshop in 2022, Yohan Hàn became interested in and approached the method of recording movements, such as scores or notations, and made developments before paying attention to the ways in which traces of humanity have been recorded for the first time. In this exhibition, they present pieces of dot paintings using images or shapes of characters such as ancient scripts, symbols, emoticons, and labanotation. The 〈Gaia Notation〉 (2023) series is inspired by the dot-shaped tablets of ancient Sumer, aiming to emphasize the ritualistic nature of "Sufi dance" and to express contents such as the Creator, creation, ritualism, and entry into a spiritual state in the manner of Revelation. Chak also expands the act of "dotting" in eight separate directions through video and performance. 〈Orbit〉 (2023) is a performative work of self-observation and inner exploration, connected with a video work of the same title, showcasing the "orbit." The artist proposes the work as an attempt to expand physical experience by identifying oneself with it, rather than being the subject of detection and contemplation.

Black Jaguar presents 〈The End of Summer〉 (2023), a sound work accompanied by 〈Artists from Seoul〉 (2022), filmed at the Maetburi in Jeju's Gangjeongcheon. The video depicts a subtle confrontation between the artists performing against the backdrop of nature at Gangjeongcheon, the filming crew, and the naval base located in Gangjeong area, resembling a black comedy. This place, where Gangjeongcheon meets the sea, is considered a ritualistic space that sanctifies the peace of the village community but is also a patriarchal space that prohibits women from entering during rituals. Throughout the video, there are recurring authoritative warnings saying “Don’t take pictures, you can't take pictures here," while the artists and filming crew explain that they are not filming the naval base but the sea. Within the same time and place, a relationship between nature that has always been there silenetly and human is revealed, akin to a distorted view of a shaman. Furthermore, inspired by memories of a flock of pigeons during the 《Let's Dance Sufi!》 project in 2022 and while transcribing them into mubo, Black Jaguar has continued to focus on ecology, such as non-human beings in the climate crisis, as a kind of minority subject and connects their vulnerability. Through the 〈Birds〉 (2023) series, the artist depicts birds losing their homes and gradually disappearing in disasters caused by humans, such as climate crises, fires, and deforestation.

The exhibition took place for about 10 days at The Oil Tank Culture Park T4 located in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Located at the foot of Maebong Mountain, The Oil Tank Culture Park was built in the 1970s as a first-class security facility that stocked oil. Secretly managed by the government at the time, it was left idle for a while as a symbol of the industrial era, and opened as a culture and art space in 2017. After being restricted from entering the area for about 40 years, it is surrounded by overgrown green forests, and the inside is dark and somehow soggy. It has a round shape and a high floor height, and even small sounds echo from all directions. Let's wander around the space in a circle, like the shape of a Sufi dance. And embracing all these (im)possibilities, now let's dance Sufi together!