The first track on South Korean-born, Netherlands-based artist Jiyoung Wi's (@jiyoungwi) 4'44" - a 'sound fiction' in the format part book and part CD. During her Sonology course in The Hague, Wi's recent work considers the relationship between the two mediums to alter the possibilities of narratives.

Structured as a series of letters opening with a one-sided transcript of a conversation, 4'44"'s accompanying audio tracks combine sounds collected through field recording and a reading of the transcript by seven speakers - in Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Bengali, English, Lithuanian, and Turkish. The use of multiple languages disrupts a single, cohesive cultural or geographical context for the text, further obscuring the identities of those engaged in the conversation. Such translation of text to sound acts as a prelude, drawing the readers into the disjointed world of 4'44". Intimate and surreal, the story follows a first-person narrator who relies on her fractured psyche for survival, chronicling the various stages of her mysterious illness.

he title reflects the layered conceptual and formal explorations of the work, appropriating John Cage's 4'33", lasting 273 seconds, often interpreted as referencing -273°C, or absolute zero, where all molecular motion stops. By adding 11 seconds, Wi creates an interval to reflect on "the other," mirroring the act of letter-writing, which involves both a sender (self) and a recipient (other). The resulting manipulation of time also draws on cultural symbolism, as the number four is often associated with death in many Asian cultures. Combining the suspended ambience of 4 minutes and 33 seconds with a brief yet charged speculative moment, the letters of 4'44" invite meditation on what lies beyond the self, at the edge of death.

https://doyenne-books.bandcamp.com/merch/d-08-jiyoung-wi-44-book-cd-set

Me in her flat in N*rth Korea Pt.1 - Jiyoung Wi [D-08]

booking: nicholasbarryklein@gmail.com

Lots of records and tapes///Played lots of shows all over the place

☆

by @specialguest-dj

booking inquiries 💌 refillmadness@gmail.com

NEXT: 
19 Oct - Frieze London Showcase with Completedworks ft. Lisa Lerkenfeldt, Maria Gorodeckaya x Ekaterina Bazhenova-Yamasaki

Tickets: https://ra.co/events/2270176

Past events:
LP launch at Cafe OTO - 29 April 2025
Film showcase at Current Plans gallery, Hong Kong - Dec 2024
Book reading at Dear Friend Books, New York - Nov 2024
Takeover at Saigon Gallery, Athens - July 2024
Camden Art Centre, London - July 2024
3-part Series Residency at Ormside Projects
https://doyenne-books.bandcamp.com
Launch at Cafe OTO - 2023

Current/Previous Stockists:
Tender Books, London
ICA, London
Tate Modern, London,
Aeon Books, New York, US
MMCA Library, Seoul, KR
The Book Society, Seoul, KR
Parallaxe Records, Kyoto, JP
Objects & Sounds, Ghent, BE,
AD England, Manchester
Good Press, Glasgow
Motto Berlin, DE

Contact: Floraytw@gmail.com

Genocide, June 2025:
Israel is only the executioner, every nation which has armed that country in the past year is an accessory to that genocide, an accomplice, a facilitator.  We cannot talk about war crimes because when you target unarmed civilians, mostly women and children, we are talking about a massacre, like terrorists do, not a war. The people who orchestrated that massacre, in the US, the most duplicitous, followed by those of the UK, Germany, France, and probably a few lesser ones should be tried for crimes against humanity just as well as Netanyahu and his cabinet, because it has been going on for two years, generously reported by media of all kinds, so the enablers knew exactly how the arms were to be used, as a tool for revenge, domination, and humiliation of the Palestinian people.  The conflict has ceased to be about the defense of anything for months.

The parties responsible have made a mockery of decency, morals, fairness, proportion, or justice, not to mention empathy.  Of what little there was, these concepts will be a lot longer to come back than they were to be struck down.  

Is it 1984 already?!?!
 ...

I have not been able to recover access to my other account [https://soundcloud.com/ha-kekong] for a couple of years.  I have tried a few times to get back into it but SoundCloud doesn't trust me.  Same phone number, same email addresses, and they still claim that they can't verify my identity.  I created that account about three years ago as a substitute to my regular account which SoundCloud temporarily closed.  They closed it as part of some upgrade procedure in their system, the result of a bug that affected many accounts, about two years ago.  Since SC did not inform its users I didn't know if that was permanent or not, so I created that other account which I can't access.  Don't be mad if I have not replied to your message in the past two years, that's because I never got them ; ) ... You can always reach me here though.
...

This one here (957729823) is for regular folks.

I love you, both.

...

You can't see it because of the angle with which I took the shot, aiming down, but beyond those blocks is the sea.  To the left is the Mediterranean, to the right is the Atlantic Ocean.  No it's not Gibraltar, but a little bit further West. ... Actually I checked recently and it is further North more than West, I thought I was facing South when in fact I probably was facing the Atlantic ocean, which is why I suppose the waves were of a decent size where we were.
...

My face and the bike are a courtesy of Joël Vaudreuil
[https://vimeo.com/user8897093]  ... Merci Joe!
I then went ahead and butchered his work with a borrowed helmet.
... Sorry Joe. =(
...

I'm trying to promote what I think is good music, so if you want to help out a bit I'd rather you [like] or [repost] my *playlists* rather than my field recordings, if you don't mind, unless you are a die hard fan of those things. Thank you ; )

I speak French, so if you send me a private message, and that you are a francophone, please write in French, thank you.  ... I mean, you don't absolutely have to, but I would prefer it. 

All my field recordings (except for when I record a person) are public, freely downloadable by anyone who is able to click on the button.  I encourage anyone interested to use them in any way whatsoever, on purpose or accidentally. No need for permissions or credits or any other kind  of administrative maneuvers.
...

Anarchists give me hope.

I'm a big fan of EFF.  Love ya EFF.  (no connection with the above line)
... and of course Richard Stallman and Linux and all the others.  Bless yous.

Now don't be lazy, go find out what it is this "EFF" that I'm talking about.  I'll give you a hint: it has to do with computers.

You have a nice day now.  Hugs & Kisses.

Me in her flat in N*rth Korea Pt.1 - Jiyoung Wi [D-08]

Doyenne