Young-jun Tak – Wish You a Lovely Sunday, 2021

In his sculptures, installations and films, Young-jun Tak examines socio-cultural and psychological mechanisms that shape belief systems and imagines possibilities for dialogue between Christianity and queer communities. Although churches and gay clubs appear to serve radically different purposes, the artist thinks they have a number of similarities, as both are essentially community spaces intended to offer visitors comfort and welfare for their mind or body. His video Wish You a Lovely Sunday takes place in the Kirche am Südstern church and the LGBTQIA+ nightclub SchwuZ in Berlin, where two dancer-and-choreographer pairs perform. Having learnt a specific piece of choreography, rehearsed over several days in one of these spaces, the pairs had to reprogram their movements through discussions at swapped venues without any prior notice on the day of filming. They then endeavoured to adapt to the architecture and atmosphere of their new context. In the film, the continual shifting between venues and the dancers’ movements and spontaneous conversations create a kind of impossible coexistence between religious practice and club culture.