At the DMZ, art finds a haunting stage: Barracks, barbed wire and an unfinished peace

PAJU, Gyeonggi — At an exhibition near the demilitarized zone (DMZ), the heavily fortified buffer separating the two Koreas since the 1950-1953 Korean War, the setting is as much a part of the experience as the artworks themselves.

A former communal bathroom and shower facility for soldiers becomes a showcase for accessories fashioned from military uniforms, challenging conventional notions of masculinity. A room in former barracks for unmarried soldiers screens archival footage of Swiss officers sent to Korea to monitor the 1953 armistice.

“DMZ OPEN Exhibition: Staging” brings together 14 artists from Korea and abroad, showcasing 26 works spanning painting, photography, video and installation art across Camp Greaves and Imjingak Pyeonghwa Nuri in Paju, Gyeonggi.

Organized by the Gyeonggi provincial government and the Paju city government, the exhibition is part of the broader DMZ OPEN Festival, a series of cultural events running through November that explore themes of peace and the environment along the inter-Korean border.

The exhibition's title draws on the concept of “staging” developed by French philosopher and sociologist Bruno Latour. Rather than treating the DMZ as a static symbol of division, curator Kim Sun-jung, artistic director of Art Sonje Center, presents it as a space where history, human activity and the natural environment continually interact.

“In a way, the situation surrounding the DMZ is like something staged,” Kim said at the opening ceremony on Monday.

The tension surrounding the site is palpable on the way to Camp Greaves, the exhibition’s main venue.

During a press tour on Monday, a soldier boarded the bus to collect passengers' IDs, a requirement for all visitors entering the Civilian Control Zone. A notice beside a guard post warned visitors of land mines and urged them to stay within designated areas.

Overlooking the Imjin River, which flows through both North and South Korea, Camp Greaves is a former U.S. military base that housed troops until 2004. It has since been transformed into a cultural complex hosting exhibitions and other arts and cultural programs.

The works are spread across former military buildings, including Studio BEQ, once barracks for unmarried soldiers; Documenta 2, a former Quonset hut; and Gallery Greaves. Their muted beige exteriors and surrounding barbed-wire fences serve as constant reminders of the site's history.

At the center of the camp stands Cafe Greaves, converted from a former vehicle workshop.

Inside, Ahn Kyu-chul's “Nine Chairs” arranges nine chairs in a loose circle, their legs, backrests and seats removed and reassembled. The empty chairs evoke absence and the uneasy state of an armistice that has endured for more than seven decades without a formal peace treaty.

Nearby, Park Chan-kyong revisits his 1997 debut solo exhibition, “Black Box: Memories of Cold War Images,” inspired by a photograph of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin handing over the black box of a downed Korean Air aircraft in 1993. Combining photographs and essays, the work questions how images shape what people see and remember about the Cold War.

Other works look beyond military history to the natural environment that has continued to evolve around it.

In “Demilitarising Moss,” New Zealand artist Janine Randerson imagines the DMZ from the perspective of moss growing over bunkers, trenches and other military installations in Cheorwon, Gangwon. The video explores how nature has reclaimed military structures in the decades since the war.

At Imjingak Pyeonghwa Nuri, a park near the DMZ dotted with monuments to division and reunification, two installations are displayed outdoors.

Lee Ye-eun's “People of Baengnyeon-ri” documents towers assembled from personal belongings contributed by residents of Tongilchon, or “Unification Village,” a border village established in the 1970s. The photographs capture the everyday objects of people whose lives have unfolded in the shadow of the border.

“DMZ OPEN Exhibition: Staging” runs through Nov. 29.

BY KIM JU-YEON [[email protected]]