di.vi.sion

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border

"Last night, I blew again. Whistle, whistle.
Even in a dream, whistle, whistle.
Passing by the house of Bok-Soon, my heart throbs.
Not realizing it, I blew a sad whistle."

The song is ‘Whi-Pa-Ram(whistle)’, sung by Chun, Hye-Young, one of the most famous woman singers in the North Korea. It cheerfully reflects a man whose heart throbs for not being able to tell a woman how he misses her.

I use this song to parody the absurdity of a cement border and for the 10 million separated families, about one seventh of the population, throughout North and South Korea.

Joint Security Area or “Panmunjon” which stands for a bridge made of a door is an armistice village where tourists breath this strange theatrical atmosphere. It is located on the west side of the DMZ strip, a little north from the capital, Seoul.

For the separated families, the place is a symbol of tragedy. The Panmunjom tour is more heavily regulated to the Koreans than to the foreigners. And even more so to the U.S. government designated ‘evil’ nations.

In the 2001 ‘AIM 21’ exhibition at the Bronx Museum of the Arts I performed a short performance, ‘Di.Vi.Sion IV”. In this performance I paralleled the Cross Bronx Express Way with the Korean cement border that I had replicated. I had learned that in 1962 the highway sliced the South Bronx in two for "security" reasons.The last three scenes come from the Bronx and that piece.

The replicated border was also shown in the city of New York's Artists Space in 2002 where people were allowed to step and walk on it.

“Sometimes the North Koreans jump over the border and jump right back again,” said Specialist, James Poston of Springfield, Vt., mimicking a little two-step dance. “It’s called ‘the bravery test.’” The North Koreans are daring the joint forces to do the same, but the South Koreans and Americans, under orders, do not respond to cursing and gestures from the other side.”(Cite from George Vecsey, “A Visit to the DMZ”, New York Times, May 31, 2002)