SHINSEGAE (2024)

© Chung Ji Hye
SHINSEGAE (means, 'new world' in Korean) is a solo lecture performance. It uses screen images to show scenes from computer games and a puppet to visualize how we see the human body. The performer breaks down and re-enacts the act of walking—a movement that people do naturally without thinking much about it—and explains how we recognize the body and behavior. The performance connects the body’s symbolic representation with the artificial images that show specific body mechanisms and links them to movement, thereby creating a sensorial interplay between natural and artificial objects.

© Chung Ji Hye
Artificial objects are things created by humans to imitate nature, so they reveal our desire for natural phenomena. The performer looks at how computer game images copy the human form to create movement, and by playing with these human-made images, it helps the audience see the body in a deeper way. By showing how the computer game character and puppet walk, the performance makes us think about the development of human walking and the role of walking upright on two legs.

© Chung Ji Hye

© Chung Ji Hye
Moreover, the performance does not merely address the function of walking but also allows the audience to experience the deconstruction of walking. Through this, the audience is invited to examine their own way of walking and feel a new sensation—SHINSEGAE of walking. What might be happening inside the body? If we analyze the body objectively to see ourselves and others, what kinds of relationships can we form? Can we rediscover everyday walking? And how might our walking change?

© Chung Ji Hye

© Chung Ji Hye
Choreography, Performance: Chung Ji Hye
Sound: Jundo
Lighting Design: Yu Sunghee
Outside Eye: Kwon Lyon Eun
Game Advisor: Shin Seung Back
Project Management: Kim Seoha
Funded by GyeongGi Cultural Foundation
Premiere: 26. Jan. 2024, Young In, Geonggi, Korea
Performance: 13. May. 2025, The Place, London, UK