Sara Sejin Chang (Sara van der Heide): Dismemberment

Sara Sejin Chang’s (Sara van der Heide) artistic practice is dedicated to spiritual evocations, historical research, decentering eurocentrism, and unraveling colonial narratives to create works that act as historical repair and healing.

In her newly created film installation Dismemberment (2024), she presents a political and shamanistic allegory where a gallerist, embodying Enlightenment ideals, undergoes a ‘dismemberment gut,’ a ritual inspired by the traditional Korean healing practice Ssitgim gut.* The gallerist, the colonial and patriarchal figure of Europa, is portrayed by actress Susanne Sachsse in an all female cast. Through this character, Sara examines the colonial condition of Europe, intertwining ritual objects and artworks to challenge the boundaries imposed by colonial narratives that separate art from spiritual practice.

The installation invites viewers into a space where the film and objects reflect on the deep entanglements of colonialism within Western systems of categorization and racialization. It also reflects on the historical experiences of Asian women, their mothers, and grandmothers in Europe, acknowledging the cycles of violence they have faced and calling for change. Through visions and song-making, Sara reimagines the gallery space as a site of ancestral convergence, situated in the present and honoring the spiritual world, with which the ‘European Enlightenment project’ severed ties.

*During the ssitimgut ritual one is taken apart by the gods, and that which no longer serves the person – whether that be greed, arrogance, abusiveness or sickness, for example – will be removed leading to one's rebirth, assembled anew.

First Double 1 & 2

Sara’s exhibition is part of the series First Double 1 & 2, which takes its title from a collaborative album by South African musicians Madala Kunene, Baba Mokoena, and Sibusiso Mndaweni. The album’s lyrics connect seemingly unrelated activities—such as a mother going to the marketplace, a father attending a racecourse, and anti-colonial resistance chants—to reflect deeper connections between everyday life and broader socio-political themes. Similarly, the five solo exhibitions in First Double 1 & 2 explore diverse yet interconnected topics, including spiritual technologies, mineral extraction, land-related issues, queer cosmologies, and the recollection of historical events. Also included within the series are solo exhibitions by Cihad Caner, Jabu Arnell, Luana Vitra, and Nolan Oswald Dennis.