Changwon sculpture biennale tells story of city as industry mecca

Changwon, a South Korean city known as a manufacturing hub and the capital of South Gyeongsang Province, is hosting the seventh edition of the Changwon Sculpture Biennale, exploring the relationship between urban development and sculpture.

As the nation’s sole sculpture biennale, the event kicked off on Sept. 27, spanning unique venues that encapsulate the city’s modern history -- Seongsan Shell Mound, Changwon Cultural Complex Center Dongnam Ground, Seongsan Art Hall and Changwon City Masan MoonShin Art Museum.

Artistic director Hyun See-won titled this year's biennale “silent apple,” borrowing a phrase from poet Kim Hye-soon, who likened her changing hometown to “A Well-Ripened Apple” that is silently unpeeled. The narratives of Changwon, still unfamiliar to many, are revealed at the exhibition as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Changwon National Industrial Complex.

The 45-day biennale focuses on the history of Changwon as well as gender, labor and the "horizontality" of the city through some 177 works by 63 artists and collectives from 16 countries.

Installation artist Choi Goen, who won the 2024 Artist Award at Frieze Seoul, is showcasing “AirLock,” a work of stainless steel and pipes on the balcony at Seongsan Art Hall. Her work embodies the period in which the city evolved as an industrial mecca.

Sculptor Chung Hyun’s 17-meter-tall “Wooden Telegraph” rises over the trees at Changwon Cultural Complex Center Dongnam Ground, which was used as a welfare center and training center for workers in the 1980s. After being renamed the Dongnam Exhibition Hall in 1989, the complex hosted exhibitions on industrial design.

The Changwon Sculpture Biennale runs through Nov. 10, and admission is free.