PARTY SONGS

An exploration of the powers of popular music as a tool of both control and liberation, bringing together unashamed idol worship and darker strains of mass suggestion, with art-rock group Laibach’s now world-famous 2015 North Korea concert as a focal point. 

The exhibition features photographs of different aspects of contemporary North Korean reality as seen through both its state propaganda and the daily lives of its citizens, juxtaposed with examples of Western and Russian idol worship through pop music. 

Morten Traavik – artistic director, writer, photographer 

Valnoir - photographer, visual identity 

Jorund F. Pedersen - photographer

Evgenij Finogenov – engineer of the exhibition scenography

Vadin Neganov, Marius Engan Johansen - installation team

Luba Kuzovnikova – producer

Theater festival Tochka Dostupa – co-producer

Audio-voices: Vladimir Pozner, Vladimir Jepifantsev, Nina Nazarova, Jevgenia Vorobjeva, Danila Korogodsky, Morten Traavik read fragments from Traavik's "The Traitor's Guide to North Korea" (published in Russian by Individuum, 2020) 

Kate Pirogova – audiocontent producer

Jevgenia Kirpichnikova – sound editor  

"Adaptation is not technical and practical work simply to translate a work into another form but a creative endeavour that requires originality. Originality in this work can ensure a more life-like and impressive portrayal of the seed of the original" - Kim jong-il, On the Art of Opera