At the entrance of the exhibition 'Inevitable Situations and Unavoidable Circumstances' by Jung Yeondoo in Busan's international gallery, Korean traditional rice wine, Makgeolli (a traditional fermented rice drink), is fermenting alongside videos of life-size figures playing blues music. Jung Yeondoo orchestrated individual performances into a collaborative blues ensemble, highlighting the genre's roots in the struggles encountered by African Americans in the 19th century Southern US. The slow-paced blues is accompanied by lyrics describing the stories of Koryoin (ethnic Koreans in the former Soviet regions) who were displaced due to historical and political circumstances. Hung on the gallery walls is a series featuring fermented soy blocks (Meju) captured closely, entitled 'Portrait of Bacillus.' Jung Yeondoo believes fermentation is closer to a divine process, rather than mere cooking, revealing a resemblance to human nature, and intertwining the notion of similarity and difference. Until the 20th, free admission.
