Three films by Ellie Kyungran Heo

19 April the Spitsbergen Artists Residency will present the film suite, "Get Some Sunshine." This will be two films and a work in progress by S. Korean video artist Ellie Kyungran Heo who has been working in Svalbard for two and a half months. She will show her films Plantarians, Get Some Sunshine, and her work in progress, Arctic Garden which will be completed in Svalbard next year.

Ellie Kyungran Heo’s films relate to her artistic research on socio-ecological solidarity, conflict, and coexistence between plants and other living beings. The screening program includes the following films:

Plantarians (2020), 33 minutes

An English-style garden, a plot of earth in New York’s Central Park, a garden and a cemetery in Maastricht: ‘Plantarians’ asks, ‘what does it mean to have a garden?’ Divided into episodes, the film studies the capacity of garden plants to respond to the particularities of their surroundings; at the same time, it tracks the lives of the contemporary men and women who cultivate, enjoy, eat, obsess over, and even grieve with and for these plants.

Get Some Sunshine (2022), 22 minutes

There was a lady in her mid-70s, social and active. Although she took heart medicine every day, she participated in various gatherings and activities. However, after COVID-19, she gave up all outside activities, spending most of her time at/around the home. ‘Get Some Sunshine’ explores a day in the life of the lady (the film director’s mother) and the solidarity she has developed with companion plants during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Arctic Garden (work in progress), is 3-minute except from the field research in Svalbard.

Heo's film works are distributed by LUX, London: https://lux.org.uk/artist/ellie-kyungran-heo.

For further information please visit the website: www.elliekyungran.com