From the mid-1970s until her death at age 31 in 1982, South Korean artist Theresa Hak Kyung Cha created a rich body of conceptual art that explored displacement and loss. Inspired by French psychoanalytic film theory, her video works use performance and text to explore interactions of language, meaning, and memory. Cha's posthumously published book, "Dictée," is an influential exploration of identity in the context of history, ethnicity, and gender.
For this Program, Guest Curator Seyeong Yoon researched a variety of artists from his native South Korea until he was captivated by Theresa Cha's work and her closeness to her age: he is the same age now as when she died.
"As a curator, I focused on audiences and culture, and thought about who would be the most appropriate artist for the Brazilian audience, the Korean audience, and the international audience that I would expose them to.
"In particular, those who know Cha Hak Kyung know her for her Dictée, which is considered the epitome of her genius. But as an artist and media curator, I would like to draw attention to her videos, and as a Korean, I would like to introduce them to the Brazilian public as much as possible.”

The ECRÃ Festival has included the work "Dictée" in the Program, so that the public can handle and observe the book on site.

Credits: Collection of the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Gift of the Theresa Hak Kyung Cha Memorial Foundation. © Regents of the University of California. Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), New York.

Includes the Works: Dictée; Mouth to Mouth; Re Des Appearing; and Vidéoème
Special Curation by Seyeong Yoon