William Blake and Conflict Beyond Borders and Forms
On the 30th of April’2024, the Museum Late event - an evening of art, music, performance, workshops and talks inspired by the conflicting poetics of William Blake - took place at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, UK. Within this event, Victoria co-curated an exhibition under the theme ‘Destructive power of War in the Arts.’ She worked alongside other three curators: So Yeon Jung, Sunjoo Jung, Dahee Min.
In conversation with the Fitzwilliam Museum exhibition William Blake's Universe, the Museum Late event explored the theme of conflict beyond borders, looking at the tension between imperialism and continental artistic exchange, feminine and masculine romanticism, as well as the destructive and regenerative power of art in a time of war.
The ‘Destructive power of War in the Arts’ exhibition was represented in different forms of art, including performances, moving images, installations, linocuts, sculptures, paintings, and photographs. The following artists took part in this exposition: Xiangyin Tom Gu, Yujin Son, Carol He, Warning (Elf) Zhu, Julia-Anna Simonchuk, Lianjiang, Nelli Shkarupina, and the team of performers: Casper Dillen, Haedong Lee, Dann Xiao, Haedong Lee, Qibaiting, Yi Wang, Yujie Duan.
Curatorial intention:
Living through a time of revolution and conflict, William Blake witnessed human suffering and destruction. Like many intellectuals in the history of human atrocities, Blake fell skeptical of existing moral and religious perspectives, inspiring him to delve into humanity's fallen and corrupted state. Through a variety of myths and symbolic systems that encompass all the virtues and vices innate in human beings, Blake captures and portrays the spiritual dimensions of human experience. Yet Blake is neither a pessimist nor a nihilist. He is seen as a visionary, standing alone among his predecessors and contemporaries who believed in the potential for divine vision and spiritual transformation in overcoming the destructive forces of war and tyranny. He celebrated the power of imagination as a tool for transcending intellectual limitations. As such, his emphasis on visionary insight and the poetic imagination can be seen as a form of intellectual warfare against restrictive and dogmatic thought.
Art can be used as a means of advocating distinctly separate ideologies, either to reveal the truth or to conceal it completely. Contrasting with groups of monarchs, dictators, and elected world leaders who consumed art for creating propaganda in order to generate support for conflicts, Blake metaphorically resisted the catastrophic power of war rather than employing art as an interference in a "war of swords."
Blake's influence extends not only into subculture but also emerges prominently during times of division and crisis. He advocates for the use of imagination as our metaphorical swords in this struggle. Amid ongoing conflicts worldwide that continue to inflict suffering, our curatorial aim is to echo his call for artists to rise up against predetermined norms that perpetuate divisions. In essence, we seek artists who harness imagination and symbolism to depict the destructive nature of violence and animosity among humanity.
A multimedia and kinetic video sculpture"Spirit Never Dies," which became a part of the exhibition, explores the lasting effects of war and time. It features images of destroyed buildings and projects fierce flames onto a steel sculpture coated with wax, representing both fragility and strength. As the wax melts under the fire, it symbolizes the decay of physical forms due to war, while the steel beneath signifies the enduring nature of human memory and spirit. This artwork prompts viewers to consider the continuous impact of memory and spirit beyond the physical realm, highlighting human resilience and the ability to remember and overcome, ensuring that past echoes continue into the future.
Artist: Elf; Curated by Victoria Stepanets
A performance ‘The three-body problem’ became a part of our exhibition on the theme of ‘The Destructive Power of War in the Arts.’
The staircase, by virtue of its spatial orientation, acts both as a stage and as the surface of a frieze. An allegory shadowing the mythological placement of bodies in and out of conflict emerges. Valkyries roam the frame of the staircase, the liminal composition of the frieze and the trans-dimensional passages of existence. Haedong Lee's soundtrack embodies the personal feelings and reflection on the war he has witnessed.
Choreography: Casper Dillen; Sound design: Haedong Lee; Performers: Casper Dillen, Dann Xiao, Haedong Lee, Qibaiting, Yi Wang, Yujie Duan; Curated by Sunjoo Jung.
