Aliza Nisenbaum’s lengthy engagement with her subjects allows her to understand their histories and dignity. For the 14th Gwangju Biennale, Nisenbaum worked with Shin-myeong, a local theatre group that was established in 1982, two years after the May 18 Democratic Movement. The group has become renowned for their open-air theatrical performances utilising their own stories to highlight social issues. Nisenbaum elected to focus on a single performance, Someday in Spring, which is about those who lost their lives during the uprising, and their families. The play aims to comfort those grieving and help to restore balance. The work attends closely to the relation between the individual actors and their empathy and passion for the characters they portray. Nisenbaum explains that she ‘was intrigued by the doubling of life and art both on and off stage; a doubling finding resonance in my practice, as an artist who often depicts other artists.’