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President of Gwangju Biennale Resigns from the Post
President of Gwangju Biennale Foundation, Lee Yong-woo, who was one of the founding members of the Gwangju Biennale, resigned from the post on September 5th when the 2014 Gwangju Biennale kicked off, taking responsibility for disputes over the politically controversial painting, ‘Sewol Owol’.
The controversial painting produced by Hong Seong-dam, ‘Sewol Owol’ was submitted for display in the special exhibition that commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Gwangju Biennale earlier last month, but the city of Gwangju reportedly banned the painting from exhibition due to its political satire of President Park Geun-hye.
After the initial order from the city to scrap the painting from the exhibition, a total of 13 artists participating in the special exhibition opposed the decision, stating that they would remove their artwork if the ‘Sewol Owol’ were not put back on display.
Following this uproar, the president of the Gwangju Biennale Foundation, Lee Yong-woo, announced that he would step down from the position, taking full responsibility for the dispute over the political painting and the violation of freedom of artistic expression.
Lee, one of the founding members of the Gwangju Biennale, served as artistic director of the 2004 Biennale in Gwangju and had functioned as the president of the Gwangju Biennale Foundation since 2012.
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