Computer Animation
AWARD OF DISTINCTION
“Hayoun Kwon succeeds in addressing a deeply difficult problem in a profound and poetic way.” (Jury Statement)
Video Installation
489 Years is a work of computer animation based on the accounts and recollections of a former South Korean soldier. The film offers insights into the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.
Since only authorized persons are permitted to set foot in the zone, Hayoun Kwon used animated sequences to reconstruct this place. The soldier talks about his experiences during a reconnaissance mission in an area that had been completely reclaimed by nature—a paradoxical setting in which he felt both alarm in light of the political-military importance of this zone as well as awe at the beauty of nature.
With her imagined landscape, Hayoun Kwon tells of the geopolitical reality of the divided peninsula and the danger of war that constantly looms here.
