Jisoo Yoo (b. 1990, Korea) 

A Moment of Wind, 2026. Site-specific performance, Umutgae Coast and Geum Oreum, Jeju, South Korea. Single-channel video, 34 minutes and 37 seconds.

In Jisoo Yoo’s site-specific performance work A Moment of Wind, seven women dressed in white walk through the landscapes of Jeju. Each of them carries a geometric frame of different shape, made of bamboo canes and thin sheets of translucent fabric.They first appear at Umutgae Coast, the easternmost edge of Jeju Island, where the land opens towards the sea. At dawn, as the horizon slowly emerges from darkness as the rising sun casts its light across the water and the rocky shoreline, the women begin to emerge in the scene. No one knows where they have come from, nor where they are going – just like the wind. Have they come from the sea, or from the rocks and mountains? They move slowly, as if on a long-anticipated migration between places and cultures, or perhaps on a pilgrimage. At times, they pause, using the bamboo frame to form relational structures – resembling sometimes seemingly a refuge, sometimes a temple, and sometimes, indeed, a home. Yet, each structure is fleeting, remaining only for a moment before dissolving as the women resume their movement and their story continues. In fact, both the appearance and disappearance of these collectively shaped structures, emerging from individually improvised movements, are significant, ultimately evoking the temporality of our lives.

At sunset, they arrive at Geum Oreum, a hill rising gently above the landscape of western Jeju overlooking the distant sea. They parade around the volcanic terrain in the wind as the island gradually slips into dusk. Again, the delicate fabric floating from the bamboo frames and their flowing white dresses sway in the wind, briefly connecting with one another and improvising various forms and rhythms, while the fading light constantly transforms the appearance of the translucent surfaces.

Jeju is traditionally known in Korean as Samdado – the ‘island of three abundances’ – women, wind, and stones. Shaped by its volcanic landscape and exposed position in the sea, the island has long been defined by relentless winds and dark basalt, while generations of women, particularly exemplified by the Haenyeo (sea women, or women divers), have sustained families and communities. In Korean, the word baram has a double meaning – both ‘wind’ and ‘wish’. In Yoo’s work, the movement of air and that of these women project their unspoken wishes, whilst the bodily effort of their expedition – carrying, balancing and sustaining the the frames in position – becomes a way of pursuing their dreams through a resilience deeply rooted in the geography and culture of Jeju.

In this project, Jisoo Yoo is both an insider and an outsider. Have lived in France for more than fifteen years, for her, perhaps this Jeju-produced performance marks a return – a return to her culture, her community, and her home. While the performance could not have been realised by any individual alone, but only through a collaborative effort, the artist becomes part of the local communities through their shared visions and prayers.