In Miner Keys
SONGS ACROSS TIME
Curated by Seohyun Kang
Song E Yoon | Frederic bruly Bouabre
May 9 ~ November 11, 2026
Venezia, Italy
SONGS ACROSS TIME
Collateral Events
Curated by Seohyun Kang
The history of humanity is, above all, a history of communication. Since the earliest times, humans have invented new languages to convey their thoughts, fears, and hopes. Long before the emergence of writing, gestures, sounds, markings, cave paintings, and symbolic carvings served as meaning channels; these traces were never mere decoration but records of how humans related to the world, ways of conversing with the cosmos and the divine. They bridged earth and sky, body and spirit, individual and community, leaving behind the oldest footprints of human presence.
At the center of this early communication stood the shaman. Far from being a mere practitioner of superstition, she was a mediator between the visible and invisible worlds. By observing the stars, the sun, the moon, and the rhythm of the seasons with acute precision, she provided direction for survival. The signs, prayers, and cryptic images she left behind were not irrational fantasies but proto-scientific records. They gradually evolved into systems of writing, and every civilization developed its own language to preserve life and memory.
Frédéric Bruly Bouabré’s work compresses this trajectory of history. Born in Côte d’Ivoire, he dedicated his life to safeguarding the oral traditions of his community. His invention of the Bété Alphabet was a linguistic innovation and a prophetic system of symbols designed to make memory permanent. Bouabré described himself as an artist, recorder, and prophet. His alphabet transcends phonetic communication; it serves as a code transmitting the voices of a people to the future. Just as writing enabled humanity to inscribe its memory across time, Bouabré’s alphabet operates as a tool that archives and transcends collective consciousness.
In dialogue with this legacy, Song E Yoon presents her petroglyphic installations as another recording form. She gathers ancient human symbols and re-inscribes them through lines and luminous marks across walls and space. Her work resembles prehistoric carvings, yet it is not a reconstruction of the past. Instead, it is a map of journeys across 10,000 years of human history, a constellation of signs that weave together layers of time. Lines intersect like star charts; symbols glow within shadow; fragments of characters and mythological figures overlap. The result is an environment where past, present, and future appear simultaneously. Song’s work, in particular, embodies the symbolic journey toward the North Star. For ancient navigators and nomads, Polaris was the fixed point in the heavens, the light that guided direction.
Her installation revives those ancient journeys toward the star, recalling humanity’s pursuit of orientation and survival. She asks through her lines and symbols: “Is it not true that even now, we are still moving toward the North Star?” This question is not a metaphor alone but a reminder of humanity’s enduring longing for direction that transcends epochs.
Placed alongside Bouabré’s cards, Song’s installation resonates deeply. Bouabré’s alphabet is a “language of recording,” while Song’s carvings are a “language of journey.” One preserves memory in symbolic form, the other reopens paths of exploration. Together they stage a dialogue across cultures and generations, asking the same fundamental question: Where do we come from, and where are we going?
The exhibition gains further depth from its setting in a historic space in Venice. Brick walls, wooden trusses, and the proximity of canals bear centuries of accumulated time. The architecture functions as an archive, embodying layers of memory and resonance. Venice, long a crossroads between East and West, tradition and innovation, amplifies the voices of the works, turning the exhibition space into another memory vessel.This exhibition does not seek to provide a definitive answer. Instead, it leaves the viewer with an open question: “What do we record, and how do we remember?” From prehistoric markings to contemporary installations, humanity has always looked to the skies and sought orientation. The journey toward the North Star is not a relic of the past but a living metaphor of our present quest. Bouabré’s alphabet inscribes memory; Song’s installations reanimate it through matter and light.
Song’s lines are not random accumulations but traces of human history gathered and intertwined across time. They remind us that humanity has never ceased to seek connection—with one another, the cosmos, and the future. And in their glow we hear again the question: “Even now, are we not still moving toward the North Star?” This question places us alongside the shamans and navigators of the past, reminding us that the primal desire to find direction has never faded. The North Star remains unmoved, and we continue to move toward it despite centuries of change.
Ultimately, this exhibition becomes a song for a new Golden Age, where past and present, record and imagination, human and cosmos converge. It is not a reconstruction of what has been lost, but a living testimony to the journeys humanity has always undertaken, and a vision of those still to come.
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La storia dell’umanità è, prima di tutto, una storia della comunicazione. Fin dai tempi più antichi, gli esseri umani hanno inventato nuovi linguaggi per trasmettere pensieri, paure e speranze. Molto prima della scrittura, gesti, suoni, segni, pitture rupestri e incisioni simboliche hanno funzionato come canali di significato. Queste tracce non erano mai semplici decorazioni, ma registrazioni del rapporto dell’uomo con il mondo, modi per dialogare con il cosmo e con il divino. Collegavano terra e cielo, corpo e spirito, individuo e comunità, lasciando le più antiche impronte della presenza umana.
Al centro di questa comunicazione primitiva stava lo sciamano. Lungi dall’essere un semplice praticante di superstizioni, ella era una mediatrice tra i mondi visibile e invisibile. Osservando con precisione il sole, la luna, le stelle e il ritmo delle stagioni, forniva orientamento per la sopravvivenza. I segni, le preghiere e le immagini criptiche che lasciava non erano fantasie irrazionali, ma registri proto-scientifici. Col tempo si trasformarono in sistemi di scrittura, e ogni civiltà sviluppò un proprio linguaggio per conservare vita e memoria.
L’opera di Frédéric Bruly Bouabré condensa questa traiettoria storica. Nato in Costa d’Avorio, dedicò la sua vita a salvaguardare le tradizioni orali della sua comunità. La sua invenzione dell’Alfabeto Bété non fu solo un’innovazione linguistica, ma anche un sistema profetico di simboli pensato per rendere la memoria permanente. Bouabré si definiva artista, cronista e profeta. Il suo alfabeto trascende la comunicazione fonetica; funziona come un codice che trasmette le voci di un popolo al futuro. Così come la scrittura ha permesso all’umanità di incidere la propria memoria nel tempo, l’alfabeto di Bouabré diventa uno strumento che archivia e al tempo stesso trascende la coscienza collettiva.In dialogo con questa eredità, Song E Yoon presenta le sue installazioni di tipo rupestre come un’altra forma di registrazione. L’artista raccoglie simboli antichi e li reinscrive attraverso linee e segni luminosi su pareti e nello spazio. Le sue opere richiamano le incisioni preistoriche, ma non si limitano a ricostruire il passato.
Sono piuttosto una mappa di viaggi lungo 10.000 anni di storia umana, una costellazione di segni che intrecciano diversi strati temporali. Le linee si intersecano come carte stellari; i simboli brillano nell’oscurità; frammenti di caratteri e figure mitologiche si sovrappongono. Il risultato è un ambiente in cui passato, presente e futuro appaiono simultaneamente.
Il lavoro di Song incarna in particolare il viaggio verso la Stella Polare. Per navigatori e nomadi antichi, la Stella Polare era il punto fisso del cielo, la luce che indicava la direzione. La sua installazione rievoca quei viaggi remoti, richiamando la ricerca umana di orientamento e sopravvivenza. Attraverso linee e simboli, l’artista chiede: «Non è forse vero che, ancora oggi, stiamo andando verso la Stella Polare?». Questa domanda non è solo una metafora, ma un richiamo al desiderio universale e senza tempo dell’umanità di cercare un orientamento. Poste accanto alle carte di Bouabré, le installazioni di Song risuonano profondamente. L’alfabeto di Bouabré è un “linguaggio della registrazione”, mentre i segni rupestri di Song sono un “linguaggio del viaggio”. Uno preserva la memoria in forma simbolica, l’altro riapre cammini di esplorazione. Insieme mettono in scena un dialogo tra culture ed epoche, ponendo la stessa domanda fondamentale: Da dove veniamo, e dove stiamo andando?
La mostra acquisisce ulteriore profondità grazie al suo allestimento in uno spazio storico di Venezia. Pareti di mattoni, travi di legno e la vicinanza dei canali portano con sé secoli di tempo accumulato. L’architettura stessa diventa un archivio, incarnando strati di memoria e risonanza. Venezia, da sempre crocevia tra Oriente e Occidente, tra tradizione e innovazione, amplifica le voci delle opere, trasformando lo spazio espositivo in un ulteriore contenitore di memoria.
Questa esposizione non cerca di dare risposte definitive. Piuttosto, lascia allo spettatore una domanda aperta: «Che cosa registriamo e come ricordiamo?». Dai segni preistorici alle installazioni contemporanee, l’umanità ha sempre guardato il cielo e cercato un orientamento. Il viaggio verso la Stella Polare non è un residuo del passato, ma una metafora vivente della nostra ricerca attuale. L’alfabeto di Bouabré incide la memoria; le installazioni di Song la rianimano attraverso materia e luce.
Le linee di Song non sono accumulazioni casuali, ma tracce della storia umana intrecciate nel tempo. Ricordano che l’umanità non ha mai smesso di cercare connessione: tra di noi, con il cosmo, con il futuro. E nel loro bagliore si leva di nuovo la domanda: «Ancora oggi, non stiamo andando verso la Stella Polare?»
Questa domanda ci pone accanto agli sciamani e ai navigatori del passato, ricordandoci che il desiderio primordiale di trovare una direzione non è mai svanito. La Stella Polare resta immobile, e noi—nonostante i secoli di cambiamento—continuiamo a muoverci verso di essa.
In definitiva, questa mostra diventa un canto per una nuova Età dell’Oro, in cui passato e presente, memoria e immaginazione, uomo e cosmo convergono. Non è una semplice ricostruzione di ciò che è stato, ma una testimonianza vivente dei viaggi che l’umanità ha sempre intrapreso, e una visione di quelli che devono ancora venire.
Introduce Team
Seohyun Kang is a curator, certified appraiser, and director whose career bridges Korea and the United States. She focuses on fostering international dialogue in contemporary art and highlighting the voices of immigrant and diaspora artists. She holds a BFA and an MFA in Western Painting from Pusan National University.
Kang began her professional career in 2010 as the Korea Director of Christina Gallery, where she organized exhibitions introducing European artists to Korea and promoted Korean artists abroad, laying a foundation for the internationalization of the Korean art market.In 2015, she was appointed the Korea Director of Gallery Apartment, where she actively supported experimental installation and media artists. By introducing site-specific installations, participatory projects, and cross-disciplinary practices into the gallery platform, she expanded the visibility of young artists and helped connect them with global critical discourses.
Since 2020, Kang has served as Director of ART NYC in New York, where she initiated archival and exhibition projects centered on immigrant and diaspora artists. Her notable curatorial work includes Immigrant Artists in America and the ART NYC Award Exhibition. In April 2025, she co- curated the solo exhibition Frédéric Bruly Bouabré: Cheik Nadro, “The one who does not forget” at Space 776, New York. The exhibition presented large-scale works from the 1970s to 2000s, emphasizing Bouabré’s prophetic identity and archival practice.
In 2025, Kang founded The Foundation of ART NYC, a non-profit institution dedicated to archiving and exhibiting the work of immigrant and diaspora artists. The foundation extends ART NYC’s vision into research, preservation, education, and international collaboration. That same year, she became Director of Space 776 New York, further expanding the gallery’s platform between New York and Seoul. Her recent curatorial projects include Synthetic Sanctuaries (Song E Yoon, Beom Jun, Rob Pruitt), Threads of Origin (Hijo Nam), Blessings to Own (Sunjoo Chung), The State of Infinity (Beom Jun, Seoul), as well as international projects such as Refreshment: On the Aesthetics of Reawakening and LOVE DIVE.
In addition to her curatorial and directorial practice, Kang is a USPAP-certified art appraiser, ensuring professional ability in valuation and contributing to transparency and trust within the art market. Guided by the conviction that “art transcends borders to record and connect the universal voices of humanity,” Kang continues to expand the horizons of contemporary art as a curator, appraiser, and director active across New York, Seoul, and the global art ecosystem.
Song E Yoon (~1983, Born in Busan)
AWARD/ GRANT
2025 The Edward F. Albee foundation Winter/ Spring visual artist Fellowship, New York
2012 Art interview Online Magazine 28th international competition second place, Germany
Art interview Online Magazine 26th international competition Third place, Germany
2011 Art interview Online Magazine 25th honorable mention, Germany
KOREA Revolutionary Korean award offered by Sports Chosun Daily, Korea
2009 KAIST ‘Total Eclipse’ cash and solo show Grant, Korea
SELCTED SOLO EXHIBITION
2024 ART NYC, ‘Deviant Sublime’, Venezia
2022 ART NYC, ‘Invisible but present’, Virtual, New York
2019 Newyorkminded, Drip, New York
2017 Lee’s gallery, Not be seen, Busan
2014 NewYorkminded, Essence, New York
2012 Soul art space, Busan
2010 Christinagallery, Mobius strip, Busan
Puriartgallery, Mobius strip, Jakarta
Mailbox, song e code, Seoul
2009 Daejeon City municipal Museum, Total Eclipse, Daejeon
2008 Topohouse ‘Night time climbing’, Seoul
2007 Guerilla performance ‘Confront’ Busan, Tokyo
SELCTED GROUP EXHIBITION
2024 Vanitas, BeAlpha, Milan
2018 LIC Arts Open, New York
2015 Community Art Project, New York
2014 Community Art Project, New York
2013 Open studio ARPNY, New York
Yeagam art gallery, New York
‘1010’ Hutchins Gallery LIU, New York
2011 ASL gallery, New York
Yeagam art gallery, New York
2008 Kopas ‘Art party in the house‘ Auction performance, Seoul
2007 The Festival of Korean Experimental Arts (gallery Yogiga), Seoul
Art space Min dul le <Lie in your teeth>, Busan
Soul art space <Sea Monster>, Busan
CURATORIAL PROJECT2025
Creat and join Artist team “Impossible” with Ramu Ataku
2024~2026 "A Crushed Memory Time & Space" , by ART NYC, Venezia
2013 God saves Queens, by Newyorkminded, Miami
SELECTED MUSEUM / ART CENTER EXHIBITION
2018 Asia art festival, Sungsan art hall, Changwon
2012 ‘The Secret’ Arco Museum , Seoul
‘The Secret’ Gwangjoo City municipal Museum, Gwangjoo
2011 ‘The Secret’ Busan City municipal Museum, Busan
2009 ‘Total Eclipse’ solo show project Grant by KAIST, Deajun City municipal Museum Deajun
RESIDENCY
2025 The Edward F. Albee foundation Residency "The Barn", Montauk, New York
2014 Arpny(Artist residency program NewYork), NewYork
THISIS
2018 <The study of intangible dimension through the media>, Published by Busan National University
Frédéric Bruly Bouabré
2024 : Solo exhibition ‘Love Letter’, ART NYC, Venice, Italy
• 2022: Frédéric Bruly Bouabré: World Unbound, Museum of Modern Art, NewYork
• 2022: Venice Biennale, Italy
• 2013: Venice Biennale, Italy
• 2012: Inventing the world: the artist as citizen, Biennale Bénin, Cotonou, Bénin
• 2010–2011: Tate Modern, London, UK
• 2010: African Stories, Marrakech Art Fair, Marrakech
• 2007: Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, UK
• 2007: Why Africa?, Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli, Turin, Italy
• 2006: 100% Africa, Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain
• 2005: Arts of Africa, Grimaldi Forum, Monaco, France• 2004–2007: Africa Remix, the touring show started on 24 July 2004 at the Museum Kunst
Palast in Düsseldorf (Germany), and travelled to the Hayward Gallery in London, the
Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo.
• 2003: Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, Musée Champollion, Figeac, France
• 2002: Documenta 11, Kassel, Germany
• 2001–2002: The Short Century was an exhibition held in Munich, Berlin, Chicago and
New York, organised by a team headed by Nigerian curator Okwui Enwezor
• 1996: Neue Kunst aus Africa, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germania
• 1995: Galerie des Cinq Continents, Musée des arts d’Afrique et d'Océanie, Paris, France
• 1995: Dialogues de Paix, Palais des Nations, Geneve, Switzerland
• 1994: Rencontres Africaines, the touring exhibition was shown at the Institut du Monde
Arabe in Paris, Cidade do Cabo in Sud Africa, Museum Africa in Johannesburg and in
Lisbon, Portugal
• 1994: World Envisioned, together with Alighiero Boetti, the exhibition hwas shown
in DIA Center for the Arts in New York and American Center, Paris, France
• 1993: Trésor de Voyage, Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy
• 1993: Azur, Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain in Jouy-en-Josas, France
• 1993: La Grande Vérité: les Astres Africains, Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nantes, France
• 1993: Grafolies, Biennale d’Abidjan in Abidjan, Ivory Coast
• 1992: A Visage Découvert, Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain in Jouy-en-Josas,
France
• 1992: Oh Cet Echo!, Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris, France
• 1992: Out of Africa, Saatchi Collection, London
• 1992: L'Art dans la Cuisine, St. Gallen, Sweden
• 1992: Resistances, Watari-Um for Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
• 1991: Africa Hoy/Africa Now, the touring exhibition has shown in Centro de Arte
Moderno in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain), Gröninger Museum in Groningen
(Netherlands), Centro de arte Contemporaneo, Mexico City
• 1989: Magiciens de la Terre, Centre Georges Pompidou and Grande halle de la Villette,
Paris, France
• 1989: Waaah! Far African Art, Courtrai, Belgium
• 1986: L'Afrique e la Lettre, Centre Culturel Français, Lagos, Nigeri a• 2024: Mostra personale Love Letter, ART NYC, Venezia, Italia
• 2022: Frédéric Bruly Bouabré: World Unbound, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, USA
• 2022: Biennale di Venezia, Italia
• 2013: Biennale di Venezia, Italia
• 2012: Inventing the World: The Artist as Citizen, Biennale del Benin, Cotonou, Benin
• 2010–2011: Tate Modern, Londra, Regno Unito
• 2010: African Stories, Marrakech Art Fair, Marrakech, Marocco
• 2007: Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, Regno Unito
• 2007: Why Africa?, Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli, Torino, Italia
• 2006: 100% Africa, Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spagna
• 2005: Arts of Africa, Grimaldi Forum, Monaco, Francia
• 2004–2007: Africa Remix (mostra itinerante) – Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf; Hayward Gallery,
Londra; Centre Georges Pompidou, Parigi; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
• 2003: Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, Musée Champollion, Figeac, Francia
• 2002: Documenta 11, Kassel, Germania
• 2001–2002: The Short Century, Monaco, Berlino, Chicago e New York (a cura di Okwui Enwezor)
• 1996: Neue Kunst aus Afrika, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlino, Germania
• 1995: Galerie des Cinq Continents, Musée des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie, Parigi, Francia
• 1995: Dialogues de Paix, Palais des Nations, Ginevra, Svizzera
• 1994: Rencontres Africaines (mostra itinerante) – Institut du Monde Arabe, Parigi; Cape Town, Sudafrica; Museum Africa, Johannesburg; Lisbona, Portogallo
• 1994: World Envisioned (con Alighiero Boetti), DIA Center for the Arts, New York; American Center, , Francia
• 1993: Trésor de Voyage, Biennale di Venezia, Venezia, Italia
• 1993: Azur, Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, Jouy-en-Josas, Francia
• 1993: La Grande Vérité: les Astres Africains, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nantes, Francia
• 1993: Grafolies, Biennale d’Abidjan, Abidjan, Costa d’Avorio
• 1992: À Visage Découvert, Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, Jouy-en-Josas, Francia
• 1992: Oh Cet Écho!, Centre Culturel Suisse, Parigi, Francia
• 1992: Out of Africa, Saatchi Collection, Londra, Regno Unito
• 1992: L’Art dans la Cuisine, San Gallo, Svizzera
• 1992: Résistances, Watari-Um Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Giappone
• 1991: Africa Hoy / Africa Now (mostra itinerante) – Centro de Arte Moderno, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spagna); Groninger Museum, Groningen (Paesi Bassi); Centro de Arte Contemporáneo, Città del Messico
• 1989: Magiciens de la Terre, Centre Georges Pompidou e Grande Halle de la Villette, Parigi, Francia
• 1989: Waaah! Far African Art, Courtrai, Belgio
• 1986: L’Afrique et la Lettre, Centre Culturel Français, Lagos, Nigeri