MMCA’s “The Poetics of Decay” Asks If We Can Embrace Decomposition
Creatrip Team
6 months ago
Seoul’s National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) opened “The Poetics of Decay: On Rotting Art,” a group exhibition exploring decomposition, impermanence and nonhuman-centered value systems. Curator Lee Ju-yeon presents works that intentionally degrade—like Lee Eun-jae’s egg-yolk paintings that mold and crack, and Asad Raza’s participatory compost installation “Absorb” made from local food and packaging waste that visitors may take and tread on. The show is organized into four acts—including “Becoming Time” and “Co-created Landscapes”—featuring 15 artists and about 50 pieces (paintings, sculptures, installations) that foreground cycles of breakdown and regeneration. Highlights include Yuko Mori’s “Decomposition,” which uses fruit to power light and sound, and site-specific pieces that will continue to change during the run; many works will return to nature after the exhibition. Programs include artist talks, family workshops, tactile maps for visually impaired visitors, and an audio guide featuring actor Bong Tae-gyu. The exhibition questions museum and market desires for permanence and asks whether institutions and audiences can accept decay as an essential condition of existence and embrace shared, circular relationships with nonhuman communities.
