5. Virtual Collaboration

Following our trip to Korea, planning for the exhibition began in earnest.  One of the first steps was articulating the curatorial focus for the exhibition.  Gertrude Contemporary was keen to frame the exhibition around the theoretical concept of landscape urbanism. Landscape Urbanism is a theory of planning and design for urbanism arguing that landscape, rather than architecture, is more capable of organizing the city and enhancing the urban experience.  The concept is highly relevant in light of the rapid rate of urban development in both Australia and Korea.  In both countries, the increasing pressures and demands placed on us as consumers often drives us to seek tranquility and respite in the natural environment.  Yet it is the natural environment that suffers as a result of our consumerism. The nexus and paradox between these two realities was to be the anchor for the exhibition City Within the City.

The tight focus of this curatorial frame relaxed over time, largely as a result of the curators layered interpretations of landscape urbanism.  Both the Australian and Korean curators brought their own perspectives to the table and the works of artists who were considered for the exhibition informed these ideas and notions even further.

Because of the geographical divide, the exhibition planning and curatorial meetings took place over Skype with images of artists’ work being forwarded back and forth via email and web link. Both the Korean and Australian curatorium had a strong desire to build a genuinely collaborative and reciprocal project.  Despite the frequent breaks in transmission over Skype, despite the language barrier and despite heavily accented English spoken on both sides of the Skype connection, these meetings were surprisingly constructive.