Join us for an evening of readings curated by artist-writers Théo Casciani and HaYoung. Interventions by Wonyeon Jang, Maria Jooyoung, Matti Leprêtre, Mélina Ghorafi, Constant Léon and Immanuel Yang.

Jikji (직지), is a Korean Buddhist document dating from 1377, the world’s oldest book printed with movable metal type taken by French authorities and still kept in Paris. Théo Casciani and HaYoung investigate its story with a speculative approach, mixing research and creation. In the company of a group of artists, researchers and writers, this evening of readings examines the history of Jikji, its interpretations and its confrontation with the violence of the world. At the crossroads of their respective origins and heritages, they explore the different narrative formats at play, questioning the symbols, fictions and realities of this book.

Schedule

19:30 - 20:15 : PART ONE

19:30 - 19:40
Introduction by HaYoung and Théo Casciani (in English)
Video recording of an interview with Wonyeon Jang, curator of Cheongju Early Printing Museum (in Korean, with English subtitles)

19:40 - 20:00
Presentation of Bulletin B and discussion with artist Maria Jooyoung (in English)

20:00 - 20:10
Reading of extracts of the script of Jikji by HaYoung and Theo Casciani (in French and English, with translations readers)

20:10 - 20:20 : BREAK

20:20 - 21:00 : PART TWO

20:20 - 20:30 
Intro and video recording of an interview with Matti Leprêtre, researcher in postcolonial studies (in English, with French subtitles)

20:30 - 20:40
Reading by writer Constant Léon (in French, with English reader)

20:40 - 20:50 
Reading by artist Mélina Ghorafi (in French, with English reader)

20:50 - 21:00
Discussion with Constant Léon, Mélina Ghorafi, HaYoung and Théo Casciani (in English)

About the contributors

Théo Casciani is an author. He studied at SciencesPo, Sorbonne University, then La Cambre, where he is now teaching. Rétine, his first novel, was published by Éditions P.O.L in 2019 and will be released in English and Polish by HELA Press. His fictions have been presented through multiple forms and collaborations in places such as WIELS [BE], Reference.Point [UK], Centre Pompidou [FR], Montez Press [US], GöteborgOperans [SW], Spazio Maiocchi [IT] or the Louvre [FR], and publications like AOC, 90antiope, Kaleidoscope, European Review of Books and The Brooklyn Rail. His next book, Insula, will be out in 2026.

HaYoung is a transdisciplinary artist. Born in 1993, they studied at the University of Seoul before earning an MFA from Villa Arson in Nice. Using video, drawing, performance, data, glass or perfume, they create poly-sensory installations that examine the social and political layers of materials, behaviors, and language. Following a residency at the Jan Van Eyck Academie, they continue researching the relationship between amorphous identity within digital infrastructures. Their work has been presented at Frac des Pays de la Loire [FR], Cirva [FR], Fondation Pernod Ricard [FR], La Ferme du Buisson [FR], SISSI club [FR] and Het Nieuwe Instituut [NL].

Wonyeon Jang is a researcher and curator. After scientific studies and surveys concerning historiography and bibliography, he now works at the Early Printing Museum, in Cheongju, South Korea. This institution was opened in 1992, to conserve Heungdeoksa artifacts at the Uncheon-dong land development site, then designated in 2007, as a Jikji Special Cultural Zone. Praised by UNESCO, the museum contains more than 650 books dating from the Silla, Goryeo and Joseon periods.

Bulletin B is an irregular publication grounded on cultural and artistic research, gathering archival & contemporary material by womxn and/or queer individuals from Korea and the Korean diaspora. The first issue of Bulletin B has been co-edited by Maria Jooyoung and Joan Lee.

Matti Leprêtre is a researcher. Born in 1995, he is a Ph.D. candidate, DAAD visiting fellow at Leibniz-Institut für Europäische Geschichte and teacher at Sciences Po. [FR]. As an undergraduate, he trained in postcolonial studies and earned a dual degree from Sciences Po. and Columbia University [US]. He then joined the EHESS [FR] where he pursued a first MA in medieval history, a second in medical anthropology and is now preparing his dissertation about the transformations undergone by herbal remedies in Germany between 1884 and 1945.

Mélina Ghorafi is an artist and writer. A graduate of the Villa Arson in 2019 and now living in Brussels, she focuses on questions concerning the aesthetics of violence, its languages, and more particularly its relationship to women and sexuality. Through research, texts, songs and performances, she invents a language drawing its sources from the crossroads between lesbian cultures and traditional aesthetics of misogyny, notably with her project MUSOGYNIE.

Constant Léon is a writer, journalist and documentary filmmaker. Having lived and worked in Marseille then Armenia, he now lives in Brussels. He is working on his first novel, about an intimate museum, as part of the Master Textes et Création Littéraire program at the École de la Cambre. At the same time, he is pursuing his radio research, this time through fictional and narrative means. He is also co-founder of Jouïr, a sound creation laboratory dedicated to sexuality.

Immanuel Yang is a graphic designer. Mainly working in the arts and cultural field, she is interested in the process of production, reproduction, and distribution of visual and linguistic information, seeking to understand its intricacies. Her focus centers on recognizing the most straightforward forms and expressions, through responses to practical restrictions and constant negotiations between diverse, sometimes conflicting interests. In her personal projects, Yang often works with existing narratives, mundane materials and common methods, drawing new connections and revealing their captivating complexities.

Credits
Graphic design by Immanuel Yang