Art Metropole

#16960

It’s the Sun and Rain that Makes the Salt and Goats and Honey Bees

Artists

Bill Burns and Yeni Ma

The Oil Tank Culture Project

Price

$30.00

Date

2026

Publisher

The Oil Tank Culture Project

Format

Artists' Books

ISBN

978-1-0696681-0-3

Length

144 pp

Genre

Performance Art, Asian Art & Artists, Canadian, Food

Description

It’s the Sun and Rain that Makes the Salt and Goats and Honey Bees is a book about a happening at Seoul, Korea. The happening involved more than a dozen farmers, beekeepers, musicians, goats and farmers at and around Seoul. Goats were milked, bees provided honey, and salt was harvested from the sea. Investment bankers planted a pollinator garden, children tasted the goat’s milk infused with salt and honey and players dressed as a donkey, a goat and a honey bee carried the milk, honey and salt across the city until it was finally mixed together at the Oil Tank Culture Park at Seoul.

The happening was directed by Bill Burns who also mixed the milk, honey and salt and made the drawings in this book. The dramaturg was Yeni Ma. The associate producer was Juwon Park. The players were Dongsol Seo, Hyeyoung Na, Yeji Lim. The violinist was Hyojin Kan. The goat farmer was Youngki Min. The principal beekeeper was Jin Park. The salt was procured at Sorae Salt Farm. Costume design was by Pascale Déry. Photography was by Chul-lim Choi and Bill Burns. Graphic Design and typography of this book is by Seoul-based graphic designer Gunjung Lee whose award-winning work often blurs the lines between typography and image. The book includes many pictures and words including a sweeping conversation between Yeni Ma and Bill Burns touching on the contradictions of consumer culture, container shipping, acceleration, slow farming, joy and collaboration between species.

Texts in Korean and English.

The authors thank the Arts Council Korea and the Canada Council for the Arts for generously supporting this project.

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