Performance — Nov 27, 2022

In Korean shamanic practices, drum music is used to summon ghosts or spirits. The rhythms and vibrations of the drums can disorientate the listener, or make them feel dizzy, hence its description as “ghost music,” which is thought to invoke an invisible force. Each sound is associated with a different natural element, such as a certain type of weather, and depending on the pitch and rhythm, all manner of natural phenomena and spirits can be invoked.

Price
museum ticket + € 3
Location
Exhibition 'When Things are Beings', gallery 0.6
Time
Nov 27, 2022, 11 am until 11.30 am
Nov 27, 2022, 4 pm until 4.30 pm
Main language
English
Admission
Tickets

Jae Pil Eun’s performance Blue Moon tells the story of the reflection of the moon in a body of water. In this story, the reflected image of the moon is so beautiful that people try to grab it, making the water ripple and the reflection disappear. The water gradually becomes still again and the moon reappears. This cycle then repeats, over and over again. Here, the moon is represented by a slow, low-pitched drum, and the splashing of the water by a fast-paced, high-pitched rhythm. Jae Pil Eun uses sound to evoke the spirit and vitality of creatures and inanimate objects. Blue Moon questions in this way the dualities of nature and culture, and of the human and the non-human.

performance Jae Pil Eun, two people with various drum instruments
Jae Pil Eun, 'Blue Moon', 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Soon young Jung.
performance Jae Pil Eun, two people with various drum instruments
Jae Pil Eun, 'Blue Moon', 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Soon young Jung.

MORE ABOUT THE ARTIST 

Writer and performance artist Jae Pil Eun’s practice is rooted in research on alternative forms of myth. In his performances, he explores mythologies that differ from or counter the single-narrative mythology of Western society. Eun attempts to revive traditional ritual practices from a variety of geographical and cultural backgrounds that have been neglected or erased as a result of colonialism. 

CREDITS 

Choreography: Jae Pil Eun
Performers: Jae Pil Eun, Valeryia Le
Sound editor: Qihang Li
Make-up artist: Jiahui Feng
Production: Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Curators: Amanda Pinatih en Britte Sloothaak, Jasmijn Mol (intern)

This performance is part of the exhibition When Things Are Beings at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.