Versus

Kyungwoo Chun

 In Versus, 20 participants were asked to sit down in place on a crescent moon shaped chair that was specially designed for the performance. Each participant found a person whom they had never met before, and then the pair sat face to face and with heads leaned on the right shoulder of the partner. All participants were asked to close eyes and refrain from talking during their sitting. The point was to relax and spend about 15 minutes in that position of leaning on and or against each other.

Versus was conceived as Chun was contemplating the meaning of the words "human being" in Chinese character which appears like the up side down Y. Like any simple hieroglyphic character is an allusion to an actual imagery, the upside down Y ( that means human ) inspired Chun to see that we as human beings are dependant creatures that need lean on others to stand strong on any ground. In Versus, the artist explores this notion of leaning on and /or against other as an act of our inevitable existential act of dependence on others. Chun carefully suggested that in this innate dependence on others participants could find comfort and affection to a degree but also find themselves in a negative situation by being burdens to each other. Done in silence, participants learned those 15 minutes of leaning on another person demand lots of endurance and physical strength. Versus in essence was a performance about relationships and their pre-requisites.