Ophelias is a multichannel video work inspired by Shakespeare's Ophelia, examining existences suppressed and erased within political systems. The work combines imagery of North Korean surveillance systems, military training, postwar ruins, nature contaminated by nuclear tests, and the Korean War armistice. These sequences are arranged in a collage-like structure, unfolding alongside the traditional Korean Salpuri dance to create an atmosphere of mourning.
The sound is based on musique concrète techniques, processing recordings of propaganda broadcasts, refugee testimonies, military parades, and loudspeaker announcements into a tension-laden sonic structure. The work renders visible a reality shaped by control, propaganda, and ongoing military tension, while expressing grief for the victims of the past, the present, and those yet to come through war and division.
Technical Setup
Ambisonics, multichannel spatialization, experimental video, hemispheric speaker system