GWANGJU BIENNALE 2018
IMAGINED BORDERS
Political scientist Benedict Anderson proposed in his 1983 book Imagined Communities that nationalism was a modern, global phenomenon created by standardization of printed information systems and liberal market economies (what he termed “print capitalism”). What then is driving the resurgence of nationalism in this era of de-territorialization with digital technologies, neoliberal capitalism and great flows of migrants and refugees? These questions propelled the 2018 edition of the Gwangju Biennale, which was titled “Imagined Borders” and sought to re-address what constitutes individual and collective identity today, as well as to delve into the Biennale’s own history with these topics.
The inaugural Gwangju Biennale was held in 1995 during South Korea’s “Year of Art” to celebrate the country’s new globalization agenda. As GB Foundation president Sunjung Kim explained in
