Michikazu Matsune / Jun Yang // The past is a foreign country – a landscape in 4 scenes

“The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there.” — L. P. Hartley

The past is a foreign country deals with the stories of two men whose conflict, understanding and friendship is forged in territories and borders with varying topography – sea, land and outer space. Combining photographic panels and narrative stories (based on the traditional Japanese picture-show style called Kamishibai), this performance examines the political contexts around East Asian border conflicts since the 17th century and the ocean as the realm of absolute freedom. The featured stories also touch on historic events such as the 1969 moon landing of the two NASA astronauts as well as the 2018 summit between North and South Korean leaders. Artists Michikazu Matsune and Jun Yang, who have both been working across different cultural settings, poetically bridge the divide between the present and the past, political and personal, national and individual.

The installation version of the performance is presented as part of the exhibition Jun Yang – the Artist, the Work and the Exhibtion until 19 May at Kunsthaus Graz. Find out more