Deluge: Water's Memory (물의 기억)

Last night I went to watch Deluge: Water's Memory at the Namsan Art Center.

A huge huge HUGE thank you to my boss for asking me to go along! 

A year ago today, an unfortunate incident occurred. A school field trip turned horrifying when the ship that carried over 300 students sank off Jindo Island (Southwest of Korea) from being overloaded and having been illegally redesigned. And to make matters worse, the captain not only abandoned ship, but also did nothing to prevent the passengers from drowning, instead, the opposite had occurred. The deaths of the students led to the later suicide of the Vice Principal who led the field trip from the emotional trauma that haunted him.

In remembrance of the incident, the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture invited Jeremy Neideck, a composer cum director from Brisbane, Australia to perform his piece Deluge: Water's Memory. The original piece was actually created after the 2011 flood in Brisbane that inspired this performance. Paired with influences of ancient greek mythology Poseidon, Korea's 'King Under the Sea', and the late Australian poet Judith Wright's poem 'The Flood'.

In the last 10 years, Jeremy has moved between Australia and Korea for work and in the last 5 years has immersed himself in traditional Korean Pansori (Opera) and with his extensive background in Japanese Butoh dance, he has combined modern dance with his acquainted performing arts to present "the physical and emotional effect of water and the human body...something of a contemporary ritual that seeks to rbing the intangible a little bit closer to the world we can see and hear".

After the Sewol Ferry incident last year, they found it fitting to invite Jeremy to present his work to the local audience in Korea, with some adjustments to the original piece. The atmosphere and start of the performance had already tugged at my heart for reasons I could not fathom.

Before the performance, we were told that the movements are organic and would be a little hard to comprehend in the beginning. But man, it got me from the beginning. At the start I was resisting tears from falling my just looking at this scene

the dancers were clad in outfits that were made out of rubbish bags and old bedsheets

In the interview that we later conducted for our show, Jeremy explained to us that the poles are a really common element in Brisbane but that also looks eerily like pier stands. He also included a lot of trinkets and bits that combined both Korean and western items that seem to have a huge influence after a tragic event: household items. 

his work involves a lot of unique movements that displays the lack of control over one's body

Btw this whole show was done without conversation and lyrics. Merely body movements, and body language. And through it all, the dancers did a fantastic job of showing what its like to grief in the most naturally involuntary way.

wails that initially sounded like the soothing sounds of the ocean, turned into painful screams and howls 

Combined with some AMAZING lighting, my tears just flowed, as if I could empathize with the pain. I don't want to ruin it so I will only say that this bit looked like the dancers were just easing their way into the water, losing themselves to death and my body followed suit with waterfalls. 

this scene got my spine frozen and tears rolling down my cheeks 

You know when you're faced with so much heartache that you want to let it out beyond crying, but if you do, people would think you need to see a shrink or something? So instead you go shopping, or smash glass/things (or is this just me -not that I actually broke anything-)? Well, in this show, I witness just how you cope with those emotions when even therapy cannot help you recover, unless you allow yourself to look like a madman. It's like fits, and you pass out as a result.

Interestingly enough, a common element I noticed was the use of what most of us deem to be rubbish, but was absolutely integral in mourning. What once was trash to us, becomes equivalent to treasures at a loss. The tears came and went, my brows furrowed at the frustration that was transcendent and translated by the dancers' bodies inexplicable by words. 

As much as I am not a fan of modern dance, this definitely moved me deeply. 

If you want to catch it, you still can. 

Title: Deluge: Water's Memory

Place: Namsan Arts Center
Time: 16 Thur - 19 Sun April, 22 Wed - 25 Sat April (8PM on Weekdays 3PM on Weekends)

Admission: 15,000₩

Ticket Purchase: http://ticket.interpark.com/Ticket/Goods/GoodsInfo.asp?GoodsCode=15003185

Do check it out if you're in Seoul. Tickets are still on sale and I can definitely guarantee you it is worth your money. 

Warning: for those with visual epilepsy, there are some intense scenes with flashing lights. 

Here is a photo with my boss Christina, the host of my show Curt Achin, and Jeremy Neideck the mastermind behind the stunning performance.

To catch our interview with Jeremy Neideck, tune into 

Koreascape on TBS EFM 101.3MHZ 

Saturday 18th April 10AM-12PM (UTC+09:00)