trailer Sewoon District, Zone 1-5 세운지구 1-5 구역

 

Sewoon District, Zone 1-5

세운지구 1-5 구역

2025 - experimental film - 10'46

Created using a machine built by the artist, the film documents an old commercial district in the heart of Seoul, South Korea, currently undergoing rapid and dramatic transformation.

This district is part of a market area developed around the Cheonggyecheon Stream over several decades, extending deep into the city. It mainly consists of commercial premises, workshops, restaurants, and offices housed in single-storey and low-rise buildings.

Known today as the Sewoon District, it is closely linked to redevelopment plans around the Sewoon Sanga building. The Sewoon District redevelopment project—long planned and frequently revised—is now gaining momentum. Entire blocks have been demolished and stand vacant, while new high-rise buildings with hotels, offices, and apartments have been constructed in other zones. Between these, remnants of original market structures remain, with business owners often uncertain about when their buildings will be redeveloped. The artist knows this area very well, as he has been returning there regularly since 2012 to find materials for his artworks.

Using a recording technique developed specifically for this work, Tiefengraber explores perception limits through flickering images and rhythmically interrupted light pulses. The film’s visual texture is shaped by the rapid rotation of the camera and influenced by frame rate and shutter speed. This fragmentation creates a state between stimulus and reflection, irritation and contemplation. The flickering acts not only as a visual effect but also generates a ghostly landscape where past, present, and future seem to merge.

To achieve this effect, the artist mounted a camera on a motor combined with a controller to regulate rotation speed. The camera rotates at 1500, 750, or 360 rpm, producing distorted images of one or multiple positions per rotation. Lighting conditions—including the sun’s position and how light falls into the alleys—also strongly affect the final image and were part of earlier research.

The image is accompanied by a sound design composed of original audio – shaped by motor noise, wind from movement, and ambient sounds – as well as additional recordings of construction sites captured using contact microphones attached to buildings and the ground.

 

 

Idea, Concept and Realisation: Stefan Tiefengraber

Thanks to: Yoojin Jang, Eginhartz Kanter, Gemini Kim, Andrea Schabernack;

With support from: