Exhibition: The Last Carnival of Korea, by Bruno Figueroa

Exposição: O Último Carnaval da Coreia, de Bruno Figueroa

Exhibition

Thursday 23 July · until 11 Oct

Bruno Figueroa’s exhibition brings together photographs taken on the eve of the Itaewon tragedy in Seoul, portraying the neighbourhood as a space of exception where diversity and self-expression were welcomed. The images preserve the memory of what became known as Korea’s last carnival, before 159 young people lost their lives on 29 October 2022.

For a long time, Itaewon occupied a unique place in Seoul as a space of exception. Located in the heart of the city, on the northern bank of the Han River, it was one of the first neighborhoods to absorb Western cultural influences, due to its proximity to the US military base. More importantly, it was one of the few places in Seoul where diversity, individuality and self-expression were openly welcomed. It thus became the symbolic home of Halloween celebrations—a space where personal desires and imagination could be performed and made visible. On 29 October 2022, a tragedy took place. In a narrow, sloping alley, 159 young people lost their lives, crushed by an uncontrollable crowd. A wave of mourning swept across the country. Families, friends and countless citizens carry a deep collective trauma. The photographs, taken the previous night by Bruno Figueroa, are more than a record of a Halloween celebration, preserving a fleeting landscape in which the pressures of competition and the weight of social norms dissolve for brief moments; a fleeting moment in which different identities and desires coexisted in freedom. They are traces of an exceptional reality once temporarily allowed in Korean society. And perhaps they remain as a memory of Korea’s last carnival—a circumstance that can never again be re-established in exactly the same way. Information: Fundação D. Luís I. Website: HERE. 214815660. geral@fdl.pt. Organization: Fundação D. Luís I, with the support of Câmara Municipal de Cascais.