Time of the Nomads… by Lynn Bennett Mackenzie

Croit mo Sheanair

29 Strath, Gairloch

Ross-shire, IV21 2DA

Tel: +44 1445 712389

Email: ceangalconnect@gmail.com

 

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Time of the Nomads…..

 

No time to rest on my laurels, just four days after seeing off the last artists from the successful Ceangal 2013 residency, I was myself air bound, heading further east than I had ventured before! My destination was a couple of hours south of Seoul, in Gonju, S Korea, where the YATOO organisation had invited me to participate in an international artist residency, and following this, to represent Ceangal at the International Nature Art Curator’s conference and connected seminar and discussion events alongside 18 other artists, curators and writers from a variety of organisations from countries such as S Africa, Iran, Bulgaria, Finland, Canada, Italy and more.

I first heard about YATOO a couple of years ago in the very beginnings of planning Ceangal. This organisation was formed just over 32 yrs ago, the brainchild of 4 artists; Eung-woo Ri, Hee-joon Kang, Syeunghyun Ko & Hur Kang, they were later joined by Won-gil Jeon and several other artists to form the Korean Nature arts association. As young artists in their 20’s, they took the brave initiative to distance themselves from the western influenced Korean mainstream art society, preferring instead to explore a new methodology of art, based on Korean’s traditional nature friendly sentiment. Over the past 32 years this core group have gone from strength to strength and boosted their numbers, reaching out to artists and like- minded people and groups in S Korea and various other countries. As part of their continued vision, they aim to bring to fruition an ambitious dream, collaborating with many people from various organisations around the world, to create the Global Nomadic art project which aims to take place from 2015 -2018.

One thing you can’t avoid in Korea is the abundance of insect life, and in particular, the spiders. They weave a glossy covering of gossamer webbing over the trees, stunning when seen with the morning dew. YATOO itself reflects this; creating a strong web of artists, writers and curators around the world, bringing them together at points to form a stable and supportive web for those with a passion and interest in Nature art and heightening awareness of that which we ourselves are part of and often abuse and pass without a second glance. YATOO have compiled a World Nature Art Catalogue, which features at present 34 organisations (including Ceangal). They are keen to connect similarly minded projects to highlight the increasing focus of nature in art, and the Global Nomadic Art Project will also build on this strong base. This is an excellent opportunity to highlight this area on many levels, not least of all, the issues concerned with living and working in a sensitive rural environment, to a much wider audience, and find parallels with those living in similar circumstances in other countries, and Ceangal will be working closely with YATOO and other organisations with this in mind. This will be a major project and as such, will require close co-operation with many different bodies, as well as sponsorship and funding from a variety of sources. We are excited about the possibilities this might bring, regarding both working with other organisations and to this area which is of course renowned for its natural environment.

If you would like to know more, you can find information about the Global Nomadic Art Project both on the Ceangal website and www.YATOO-i.com. If you would like to be involved in some way, you can also, as ever, contact me on ceangalconnect@gmail.com.

You can also find out more about my residency and more on www.lynnbmack.co.uk - watch this space for more information