Chrisél Attewell exhibits at the Korean Cultural Centre in South Africa

BANDI WALK: One Step Closer to Our Earth

In commemoration of the 2024 Korea-Africa Summit (June 4-5), the Korean Cultural Centre presents the Ecological Environment Special Exhibition, BANDI WALK: One Step Closer to Our Earth. ‘Bandi’, the Korean word for firefly, symbolizes purity of nature. This exhibition features thought-provoking works from the National Asian Cultural Center in Korea alongside innovative pieces by renowned and emerging South African artists. Blending contemporary installation and media art, the exhibition addresses critical topics of the environment, climate, and the natural world.

BANDI WALK, signifies the first cooperation where the visual arts of Korea and South Africa come together, highlighting their joint efforts to address global problems and promote two-way cultural exchange. This exhibition provides a perspective on the Earth’s past, present, and future. It aims to recall the richness of our ecosystems, highlight the current crisis of the planet, and reflect on our responsibilities and roles in overcoming the climate crisis. BANDI WALK creates a platform for bilateral cultural exchange, fostering cultural understanding and cooperation between Korea and South Africa.

Chrisel Attewell is a South African-born multidisciplinary artist. Attewell’s work is experimental and therefore research-based, employing a variety of modes of creative and artistic work such as installation, sculpture, performance, video art, and painting. The research is centred on socio-ecological concerns, exploring nuances in society’s connection to the earth they inhabit.

For this exhibition, Attewell presents a durational video performance piece titled ‘Hande in Onskuld’, an Afrikaans-titled artwork where the artist ritualistically washes her exposed hands with melting ice. The work alludes to the biblical term of washing hands to innocence. The pun of melting ice highlighting global warming is unmissable. The video simultaneously echoes the Sisyphean labour in the cleansing of hands.