Haegue Yang, recipient of the 13th Benesse Prize, is currently in a group exhibition at the Benesse House Museum in Naoshima, Japan. A new collaborative work by Yang and Thai filmmaker, and artist Apichatpong Weerasethakul will debut at Matabe, a newly renovated traditional Japanese house and art space in Naoshima. This long-term exhibition opened on June 21, 2024, and will remain on view for three years.

The title, Ring of Fire, references the Pacific Ocean’s tectonic zone of earthquakes and volcanoes. The project explores light, shadow, movement, and vibration, creating an immersive environment inspired by Yang and Weerasethakul’s shared interest in making the invisible visible. The installation functions in two modes: Day, where Yang’s works respond to real-time earthquake data, and Night, where Weerasethakul’s elements activate based on historical earthquake records from the past century.

Yang presents several kinetic sculptures and light installations within Matabe:

Sonic Eruption Upside Down – Two suspended sculptures (1m and 1.5m in diameter) made of red and silver bells, shaped like inverted volcanoes. Motors embedded in the structure activate the bells’ vibrations in response to global earthquake data.

Mesmerizing Votive Pagoda Lantern – A white Sanuki-style lantern, adorned with shamanic paper flowers, illuminated by red light filtering through intricate cutouts. This slowly rotating lantern (0.3 turns per minute) serves as a ritualistic object for mourning.

Minor Eruption: Sonic Golden Wreath – A series of six papier-mâché volcanic totems, placed both inside and outside the space, each featuring golden bell chains.

These works are charged with multisensory experiences including the movement of light and shadow, the vibration of bells and hypnotic rotations, unsettling blinking of light, all of which are triggered by the earth, this collaborative conception of a total environment encompasses both Yang’s mesmerizing presentation of physical sculptures and Weerasethakul’s cinematic play on light and shadow, thus creating a dynamic and comprehensive interplay between the physical and ephemeral components within one site.

+ about haegue yang

+ about the exhibition