Remaining Where Light Falls is a performative installation that uses shimmer of a flame of a candle and its light and shadow as medium. Through the act of tending to a candle, this work experiments with affective resonance. The duration of the performance is dictated entirely by the lifespan of the candle; it begins the moment the flame is ignited and concludes only when the candle has burned out completely. During the performance, the audience are invited to walk with ‘the one who tends the flame,’ becoming temporary companions who will be present for the candle’s entire lifespan. From the initial moment of ignition to its inevitable extinction, the participants engage by remaining, sharing the ephemeral fading light and the lingering warmth. The performance includes a portable, 4-channel, light based synthesizer that sonifies the movements of the flame and the gesture of the performer.

Focusing on the inherent ambivalence of care, this project experiments with the relationships between the caregiver, the care-recipient, and the audience. Through a structured narrative, the performance utilizes the screaming candle, the flame-tending protagonist, and the audience as metonymic metaphors to transform the audience from spectators into witnesses. Upon entering the exhibition space, the audience is immersed in darkness, which intentionally shifts their sensory perception from merely seeing to deeply gazing. As the performance unfolds within this shared community of careful listeners, the boundaries of care are renegotiated, encouraging the audience to confront their own latent memories of care.

Video version 2025

For the full version of the written thesis, please visit this [link]

For recent version of video documentation, please contact via email or instagram:

Web: [bon.kim]

Instagram: [@bon_kim_art]

Technical Support and Supervisor: Daniel Vadasz

Photos by: Daniel Vadasz, Jennifer Yue Yuen Yu

Video by: Deokman Kim

Special thanks to:

Jimi Liu

Julia Vollmer

Seoungjoo Moon

Karoline Ketelhake

Milton Raggi

Jennifer Yue Yuen Yu

Fiona Paulini

Moira Anouk

Volker Grahmann

Markus Waltert

Michael Hinrichs

Imri Mjekiqi

This performance incorporates a new version of Nicolas Collins’ composition “In Memoriam Michel Waisvisz (2009)”, realized on a digital instrument based on Collins’ original analog version.

This project was developed with the support of the Arts Council Korea (ARKO) ARKO SELECTION for Interdisciplinary Arts 2025.