POETIC SILENCE
in collaboration with Performance Art Bergen
14/09/25
Poetic Silence is a project initiated by Performance Art Bergen member Kyuja Bae in 2024 with the aim of fostering artistic exchange, dialogue, and collaboration between performance artists from Norway and South Korea. The collaboration between Performance Art Bergen (PAB) and the Korean Performance Artists Association brought together five artists for this edition of the project: Kyuja Bae (KR/NO), Frauke Materlik (DE/NO), Marit Tunestveit Dyre (NO), Hong-jae Shim (KR), and Eun Sung Cho (KR).
The project unfolded across two public events. On September 12, in connection with Bergen’s Culture Night, the artists performed at Kunsthall 3,14. The second event took place on September 14 at Galleri Kronborg, where performances were carried out in direct dialogue with the mountain landscape.
By moving between urban and natural environments, Poetic Silence sought to open spaces for presence, listening, and sensing—both with the surroundings and among the artists themselves. Developed collectively and in close relation to the environment, the project emphasized the act of attunement and awareness. After the live performances, the artists left behind both material and ephemeral traces at Galleri Kronborg, forming a quiet, lingering exhibition that remained accessible to visitors long after the actions had ended.
Participating artists:
Kyuja Bae (KR/NO) is an interdisciplinary artist based in Norway, originally from South Korea. Her practice spans choreography, dance, performance art, theater, writing, and installation. She holds a Master’s degree in Choreography from the Oslo National Academy of the Arts, and has also studied theater, acting, stage art, and creative writing at institutions including the Norwegian Theatre Academy at Østfold University College in Fredrikstad and the Korean National University of Arts in Seoul.
Kyuja approaches dance as a holistic practice—one that fosters insight, wisdom, and compassion, and supports creative well-being, interconnection, and harmonious coexistence. Her recent artistic research centers on the concept of the Meditative Body, integrating movement, meditation, and mindfulness. This practice emphasizes cultivating self-awareness in relation to the mind’s activities—emotions, thoughts, and dreams—while opening a poetic gaze through embodied awareness.
Frauke Materlik (DE/NO) is an artist (MA Byam Shaw at Central Saint Martins, U.K.), gardener (Herrenhäuser Gärten, Hannover, D), landscape architect (MA University of Greenwich, U.K.) and a member of Performance Art Bergen. She understands art as a tool for exploring, navigating and negotiating in complex environments, revolving around questions on how to translate and convey. In her practice, she works in dialogue with her surroundings, combining performance, installation, and horticulture. She exhibits, researches and teaches internationally. Frauke has been awarded numerous residencies and grants, such as at Oak Spring Garden Foundation (U.S.), Kunstdepot Göschenen (CH), Cité des Arts Paris (F) and Nida Art Colony (LT).
Marit Tunestveit Dyre (NO) is a visual artist based in Bergen, Norway. Within her practice she explores the field of performance, observational photos, text, dialogue and sculptural elements.Textile as a material, and walking as a working method is recurring elements in her practice. She holds a BA in specialized art: textile (2011), a MA in Fine Art from Bergen Academy of Art and Design (2013), and a BA in Social Anthropology from the University of Bergen (2024).
Hong-jae Shim (KR) is a painter and performance artist. He organized the Peaceful Unification of Korea Eurasian Railway Crossing Project and served as its travel director in 2015. He also participated as a member of the World Peace Art Travel Europe Exploration Team in 2019 and worked as the general curator for the 1st Busan Port International Performing Arts Festival 2008. Currently, he is serving as the president of the Korea Performance Artists Association. He constantly advocates for world peace through performance art.
Eun Sung Cho (KR) is a performance artist and practitioner of the Korean National Intangible Heritage No. 34 the Gangryeong Mask Dance. She began acting in theater during her teenage years and pursued a career as an actor. In 2004, She expanded her focus to performance art and traditional mask dance, marking her official entry into the artistic world. Cho, Eun-sung consistently seeks authentic communication for the genuine process and outcome of art, connecting it with the audience. She also explores the deconstruction of art genres and the close integration of different genres, producing and directing various projects and performances.