Young-jun Tak

For the first time, four films from Young-jun Tak’s ongoing choreography film series are shown together in a newly edited 4-channel video installation. Each 20-minute single-channel film explores themes of presence and absence, shifting between different settings. These films are part of an ongoing series that will include seven in total, each relating to a day of the week.
    In Wish You a Lovely Sunday (2021), dancers rehearse a choreography in two locations—a church and a queer club. By switching the setting with no prior notice on the day of the shoot, the choreographer and the dancer must adapt the dance to its new setting.
    Queer male dancers perform in Love Your Clean Feet on Thursday (2023) in Berlin’s Grunewald Forest, as the setting alternates to Málaga with a traditional religious procession with Spanish soldiers.
    Love at First Sight on Monday (2024) is inspired by a Norwegian novel. Teenage female dancers tell their parents’ love story, which gay male dancers later reinterpret through movement. The setting shifts from a medieval church to an empty jumbo jet.
    The most recent work, Love Was Taught Last Friday (2025), combines traditional woodcarving practice with contemporary dance, searching for harmony in intergenerational exchange. 
    The four films run in sync: while one plays in color with sound, the other three are shown in black and white without audio. A shared stereo soundtrack weaves the four together, filling the space with movement and emotion.
    Young-jun Tak explores how social, political, cultural, and psychological systems shape people’s lives. His sculptures and films often show how the human body is influenced by rigid social expectations.

Single channel HD video, color, stereo sound, 20 min

2021/2025

Courtesy of the artist

Supported by Arts Council Korea, Berlin Masters Foundation, Burger Collection, and Center Stage

Director and Producer: Young-jun Tak

Dancer: Yi-Chi Lee, Daniel Norgren-Jensen

Choreographer: Jee Chan, Liam Warren

Line Producer: Elsa Triquet-Rey

Director of Photography: Jubal Battisti

Second Camera Operator: Pippa Samaya

Gaffer: Alex DePew

Sound Recordist: Robert Klemm

Editor: Clémentine Decremps

Assistant Editor: Théo Perrot

Sound Mixer: Guy Henderson

Colorist: Sergej Jurisdizkij

Locations

Kirche am Südstern, Berlin

SchwuZ, Berlin

Music

Lucas & Arthur Jussen—J.S. Bach: “Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd” Cantata, BWV 208 (arr. Mary Howe for two pianos): 9. Schafe können sicher weiden (P) 2019 Molto Piano VOF, courtesy of Universal Music GmbH

Lucas & Arthur Jussen—J.S. Bach: “Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit,” BWV 106 (Transcr. for Piano Four Hands by György Kurtàg): 2a. Gottes Zeit, ist die allerbeste Zeit (P) 2019 Molto Piano VOF, courtesy of Universal Music GmbH

Film Rental: UFO Filmgerät, Berlin

Legal Advice: Kanzlei Alexandra Hölzer

Single channel 4K video, color, stereo sound, 20 min

2023/2025

Courtesy of the artist

Supported by Fondation d'entreprise Hermès, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Burger Collection, German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Stiftung Kunstfonds, and NEUSTARTplus-Stipendium

Director and Producer: Young-jun Tak

Choreographer and Lead Dancer: Jamal Callender

Dancers and Voices: Miguel Ángel Collado, Yi-Chi Lee, Daniel Norgren-Jensen, Liam Michael Scullion, Aaron Vazquez Such

Line Producer: Elsa Triquet-Rey

Director of Photography: Jubal Battisti

Berlin-Grunewald

Camera Operator: Matthias Pöttker

Sound Recordist: Aude Langlois

Boom Operator: Taiga Trigo

Production Assistants: Yui Mikami, Théo Perrot

Málaga and Alhaurín de la Torre

Camera Operator: Israel Fdez

Sound Recordist: Luis Jiménez Barroso

Fixer and Location Manager: Alex Esteve

Editor Clémentine Decremps

Assistant Editor: Théo Perrot

Sound Mixer: Edgardo Gomez

Colorist: Sergej Jurisdizkij

Music

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Richard Bonynge

“Massenet: Manon Ballet - Arranged and orchestrated by Leighton Lucas with the collaboration of Hilda Gaunt / Act 2: Scene 1 – Conclusion” (P) 1987 Decca Music Group Limited mit freundlicher Genehmigung der Universal Music GmbH

Film Rental: UFO Filmgerät, Berlin; Alquila Visual, Málaga

Insurance: Howden & Caninberg, Potsdam

Gefördert durch NEUSTARTplus-Stipendium der Stiftung Kunstfonds / NEUSTART KULTUR der BKM

This work was made possible thanks to the support of the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès.

Single channel 4K video, color, stereo sound, 20 min

2024/2025

Courtesy of the artist

Supported by Norwegian Film Institute, Østnorsk Filmsenter, and Burger Collection

Director and Producer: Young-jun Tak

Lom Stave Church, Lom

Dancer: Emma Malee Skår, Ingrid-Oline Hanche Olsen

Choreographer: Cina Espejord

Boeing 747-300, Luchtvaartmuseum Aviodrome, Lelystad

Dancer: Daniel Norgren-Jensen, Yi-Chi Lee

Choreographer: Liam Warren

Co-Producer: Lillian Løvseth, LØV Film

Line Producer: Elsa Triquet-Rey

Director of Photography: Jubal Battisti

Camera Operator: Espen Bye

Sound Recordist: Ingar Pedersen

Gaffer: Frida Aune

Production Coordinator: Sigrid Sand

Editor: Clémentine Decremps

Assistant Editor: Théo Perrot

Sound Designer: Mattis Sørum

Colorist: Sergej Jurisdizkij

Music

Joachim Carr—Edvard Grieg: “Wedding Day at Troldhaugen” (Op. 53 No. 6), 1896; recorded by Rainbow Studio, Oslo, 2024

Joachim Carr, Daniel Sæther—Edvard Grieg: “The Sweetness of a First Meeting” (Op. 21 No. 1), 1870; recorded by Rainbow Studio, Oslo, 2024

Single channel 4K video, color, stereo sound, 20 min

2025

Courtesy of the artist

Commissioned by Singapore Biennale 2025 and Taipei Biennial 2025

Supported by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and Sunpride Foundation

Director and Producer: Young-jun Tak

Choreographer: Christopher House

Dancers: Daniel Norgren-Jensen, Liam Warren

Organist: Andreas Sieling

Carvers: Ferdinand Stuflesser 1875 (Pius, Stefan, Davide, Fabian)

Line Producer: Elsa Triquet-Rey

Director of Photography: Jubal Battisti

Bolzano

Camera Operator: Alexander Fontana

Sound Recordist: Martin Fliri

Berlin

Camera Operators: Naima Maleika, Harumi Terayama

Sound Recordists: Aude Langlois, Felipe Vareschi

Production Assistant: Théo Perrot

Editor: Clémentine Decremps

Assistant Editors: Jake Flowers, Théo Perrot

Sound Mixer: Felipe Vareschi

Colorist: Sergej Jurisdizkij

Music

Andreas Sieling—Louis Vierne: Symphony No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 14: IV. Allegro vivace; recorded at Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom), Berlin, 2025

Film Rental: UFO Filmgerät, Berlin

Insurance: Barmenia Gothaer Finanzholding AG, Berlin