Scented Stories: Inside Korea's Olfactory Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale

Korean Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale: By Jean-Pierre Dalbéra from Paris, France - Le pavillon de la République de Corée (Venise), CC BY 2.0, commons.Wikimedia/ Art Reviews Miami

🇰🇷 Korean Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale: A Multi-Sensory Journey Through Memory and Identity

The Korean Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale offers a profound exploration of memory, identity, and the intangible connections that bind us.
This year's exhibition, titled "Odorama Cities", is a collaborative effort between artist Koo Jeong A and curators Jacob Fabricius and Seolhui Lee.
It stands out for its innovative use of scent as a medium to evoke personal and collective memories, providing visitors with a unique, immersive experience.

🌬️ "Odorama Cities": Scent as a Narrative Medium

"Odorama Cities" transforms the pavilion into an olfactory landscape, where scent becomes a conduit for storytelling.
The project collected over 600 scent memories from a diverse group of individuals, including Korean adoptees, North Korean defectors, and international visitors to Korea.
These memories were then distilled into 17 distinct fragrances in collaboration with the Korean fragrance brand Nonfiction.
The scents permeate the pavilion, inviting visitors to engage with Korea's multifaceted identity through their sense of smell.

The installation features a levitating bronze sculpture that diffuses these scents, Möbius-shaped wooden structures symbolizing infinity, and an engraved wooden floor, all contributing to a sense of weightlessness and endlessness.
These elements align with Koo Jeong A's artistic themes of immaterialism and levitation, creating a space that transcends physical boundaries.

🏛️ "Every Island is a Mountain": Celebrating 30 Years of the Korean Pavilion

In conjunction with "Odorama Cities," the exhibition "Every Island is a Mountain" commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Korean Pavilion.
Hosted at the Palazzo Malta – Ordine di Malta, this exhibition showcases works from 36 artists who have contributed to the pavilion over the years.
The exhibition reflects on the evolution of Korean contemporary art and its dialogue with global audiences.

Notable works include Lee Wan's AI-interactive piece "KonneXus 2024: Mountains in Islands,"
Choi Jeong-hwa's "nATuReNuRture" is constructed from coastal styrofoam waste,
and Suh Do-ho's "Who Am We?" features thousands of graduation photos arranged as wallpaper.
These works explore themes of identity, ecological coexistence, and collective memory.

🏗️ Architectural Significance of the Korean Pavilion

The Korean Pavilion itself is a testament to thoughtful design and cultural sensitivity.
Designed by architects Kim Seok-Chul and Franco Mancuso, the pavilion was the last to be constructed in the Giardini and is notable for its transparent structure and integration with the surrounding environment.
Built without disturbing the existing trees, the pavilion embodies principles of harmony with nature and openness, reflecting Korea's architectural philosophy.

🌟 Conclusion

The Korean Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale offers a compelling, multi-sensory experience that challenges traditional exhibition formats.
By engaging the sense of smell, "Odorama Cities" invites visitors to connect with Korea's cultural narratives on a deeply personal level.
Coupled with the retrospective "Every Island is a Mountain," the pavilion not only celebrates three decades of Korean artistic innovation but also sets a precedent for future explorations of identity and memory in art.

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