Forward to the Past: Yokoo Tadanori’s Road to Hanshan and Shide
Japan
Kobe
2022
17
The exhibition Forward to the Past: Yokoo Tadanori’s Road to Hanshan and Shide presents artist Yokoo Tadanori’s compelling new paintings, inspired by the Tang-dynasty (618-907 CE) Zen monks Hanshan and Shide, alongside key works from his extensive artistic journey. Responding to the profound global shifts beginning in 2020, Yokoo retreated to his studio, developing his “moro-tai” (obscure style) to portray Hanshan and Shide, celebrated for their tousled hair, ragged clothes, and hearty laughter. This collection reveals how an artist’s personal introspection during times of societal change can lead to an unexpected connection with historical figures and artistic renewal, inviting visitors to consider the enduring power of creative resilience across ages.
Why should you watch this?
The film Forward to the Past: Yokoo Tadanori’s Road to Hanshan and Shide is timely because it shows how an artist’s practice can turn isolation into a public language of resilience and wit. Yokoo’s loose moro-tai brushwork reimagines Tang-era misfits as companions for our own fraught moment—ragged clothes and hearty laughter become forms of resistance. A trembling contour that bursts into a grin, or a pale wash that reads like a private confession, mixes unease with solace. The experience challenges and comforts in equal measure, leaving a simple charge: art can hold loss, reopen stories, and invite renewed care for one another.
Hanbok, Poetics of Line and the Passage of Life
Canada
Ottawa
2021
19
The exhibition Hanbok, Poetics of Line and the Passage of Life presents the story of traditional Korean attire, tracing its cultural significance and transformation through time. With a basic style originating in the Three Kingdoms period (37 BCE – 668 CE), the Hanbok shown primarily reflects that of the Joseon dynasty (1392 – 1910). The exhibition explores how this clothing embodies Korean ancestral values, worldview, and reverence for nature through its use in life’s milestone ceremonies and its symbolic colours derived from Yin-Yang theory. Curated by EuiJung McGillis, the presentation showcases items from a baby’s first birthday dress to royal robes, alongside modern reinterpretations by early twentieth-century shinyeoseong (new women). Visitors will discover Hanbok as a transmitter of tradition and a dynamic symbol of Korean identity in a global context.
Why should you watch this?
Hanbok, Poetics of Line and the Passage of Life resonates today because it frames clothing as both a vessel of memory and a mirror of change. The exhibition’s display of the Obangjang durumagi, alive with five elemental colors, reminds us of humanity’s search for balance with nature at a time when sustainability is a global concern. Equally striking are the “new women” who reshaped Hanbok to claim individuality during Korea’s modernization — a gesture that still feels bold and liberating. This exhibition shows that tradition is not fixed but evolving, offering viewers a timeless reflection on identity, resilience, and creativity.