CRISTINA RICUPERO

The 6th Gwangju Biennale 2006 is dedicated to illuminating and re-interpreting international contemporary art from the standpoint of Asia. Entitled 'Fever Variations', this year’s Biennale reflects Asia's cultural abundance - its multiple significance and the ways it affects the world. 'Fever' implies a shift of the center towards Asia through dynamic energies and visions, along with expansion, spread and penetration. 'Variations' denotes the differences in the Asian regions and their cultural multiplicities and richness. Under Artistic Director Kim Hong-hee, the 6th Gwangju Biennale is structured around two comprehensive contemporary art exhibitions, The First Chapter_Trace Root: Unfolding Asian Stories and The Last Chapter_Trace Route: Remapping Global Cities, with an additional Citizen Program and a Special Exhibition, Color of East Asia.

The First Chapter traces in a diachronic fashion the roots of the Asian spirit running through contemporary art culture. Comprised of four sub-sections entitled Myth and Fantasy, Nature and Body, Trace of Mind, and Past in Present, this exhibition showcases the origin of Asian aestheticism and its glocal presence which penetrates into the East and the West and the past and the present.

The Last Chapter takes a synchronic approach to the actuality of Asia: the construction of new cities, urban cultures and inter-city networks. Fifty-seven participating artists of various ethnicities have worked on collaborative projects in the networking cities and reveal the processes and results of such works in the Biennale.

The catalogue Fever Variasion vol. I mainly comprises essays, with some black and white images of works. Full colour images of the exhibited works are provided in 'Gwangju Biennale 2006: Fever Variations vol. II. Also included are artist biographies, proceedings of the 2006 Gwangju Biennale International Symposium, and that of the CAA Conference entitled 'Asia Effects in New Media'.