Haegue Yang. The Great Forgetfulness

Based on the eponymous 2024 commission by artist Haegue Yang for the National Sculpture Factory (Cork), the publication The Great Forgetfulness is now being released. The book addresses the complex relationship between individual and collective forgetting in societies whose history is shaped by colonization and trauma. Yang’s work explores how necessary survival often requires the suppression of painful memories, and how these national macro-traumas inscribe themselves into the micro-traumas of the individual. Featuring numerous illustrations and in-depth essays, the publication illuminates the exhibition's central questions and offers essential insight into the artist’s critical engagement with (in)visibility and collective identity. The volume thus makes a significant contribution to current discourse on memory culture and postcolonial theory in contemporary art. Born in Seoul in 1971, Haegue Yang lives and works in Berlin and Seoul and is considered one of the most influential voices in contemporary art. Her multifaceted installations, sculptures, and videos have been exhibited worldwide in renowned institutions, including the Venice Biennale, MoMA in New York, and Tate Modern in London.