Catalogue of joint exhibition 'Elastic Taboo' held at Kunsthalle Wein in 2007.

Exploring the taboos in contemporary Korean art reveals the picture of a society that has been torn by dreadful contradictions for millenniums and even in the recent past and will be informed by these oppositions also in the near future. Since the 1960s, the country has slowly recovered from the terrible war that ended in 1953 and began to change dramatically. In the course of five decades, it has transformed from a rural society to a rapidly growing urban world. These dramatic upheavals have affected the whole society and its rules. What was absolutely taboo yesterday has become permitted and even encouraged – and vice versa.

Elastic Taboo assembles a broad spectrum of works by artists that have never been shown together. The assortment consists of a large range of opposites such as the ironically "informal" piece by Lee Kang-so, who has a floor painting done by a live rooster, juxtaposed to Lee Seulgi's Dokebi, a rotating sculpture with balls attached to the piece by strings hitting the sculpture like a Buddhist monk working his wooden gong like mad with loud and heavy beats. The gameboy soundtrack composed by Bubblyfish (aka Kim Haeyoung) provides a pleasant background for several monochrome works by Park Seo-bo and spreads a discrete musical fragrance elucidating the historical dimensions of Korean modernity.

With preface by Gerald Matt. Images of works in the catalogue are accompanied by artist interviews and biographies.