CAN-DO-SEE Blues_No news is still a news 

CAN-DO-SEE Blues_No news is still a news is an installation work from researching Asian financial crisis of 1997, specifically in South Korea, known as the “IMF crisis”. 

The work investigates the way in which the government attempted to protect the public from the crisis by simultaneously censoring news content and advertising Korea’s growing GDP and international reputation as one of Four Asian Dragons(or -Tigers) in effect delaying the response and worsening the crisis. 

In parallel, the government applied a similar approach when the Youth Protection Act was set into place that same year. The Act was intended to protect the youth from black-market comics being imported from Japan that contained inappropriate Japanese cultural content, Japan being Korea’s ex coloniser. Furthermore, the violence and sex depicted in the comics was considered to be harmful for teenagers and believed widely to be the reason for teens’ violent behaviour.

Heyon Han’s work attempts to bring into sculpture this very speculation of comic becomes news and news becomes comic.

CAN-DO-SEE Blues_No news, 2021
Graphic thumbnails from the television news in South Korea in 1997, Pirate copy of the comic Rokudenashi Blues in 1997, Teleprompter, Lightbox, Tracing paper, Water pump, Wood, Clay, Wool, Lighting
Photo: ©Barbara Cilliers