Haegue Yang: An Opaque Wind

Overview

An Opaque Wind (2015) is an artist book by Haegue Yang extending from her site-specific installation commissioned for Sharjah Biennial 12 (SB12). It reflects on the geo-economic involvement of the Republic of Korea in the Gulf region since the 1970s. Driven by an exchange in technical labour for the development of urban and oil infrastructures, the publication explores how this history has created a shared ecology between the two territories today. Centred around the documentation of Yang’s installation at SB12, the project highlights the economic trajectory of industrialisation and juxtaposes it with the reconstruction of Sharjah’s early settlement in the heritage village.

Alongside documentation of the installation, the publication includes a commentary on carefully chosen elements, such as local papers in the language of immigrants to the UAE, the script for the installation’s accompanying audio track, Doubles and Halves – Events with Nameless Neighbors (2009), and a short text by the artist in English and Arabic, as well as a satellite-feed of Korean media tracing the history of diasporic communities. The publication and site-specific installation is contextualised with an essay by Eungie Joo, curator of SB12.