Mul Maeum transverses three locations on the Korean peninsula to explore the consequences of extraction economies and military industry on the livelihood and lifeways of people, nature and marine environments. One location is a fishing village near Saemangeum, home to the world’s longest seawall. The construction of the thirty-three-kilometre wall has displaced the estuarine tidal flat that was once the natural habitat for migratory birds. The second location is the village of Gangjeong on Jeju Island, where the construction of a naval base has disrupted the sacred Gureombi rock. In Gangjeong, we encounter a Yemeni family, refugees who the artist met during an earlier research trip. The third site is the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea—ironically also one of the most richly bio-diverse areas in the region. Intercutting these three sites across three screens, Jin-me Yoon’s work flows like water calling up the title Mul Maeum, which directly translates as “Water, Mind-heart.”

- Diana Freundl, Vancouver Art Gallery