SAHA supports the Busan Biennale through the production of Lara Ögel’s new work. Curated by Evelyn Simmons and Amal Khalaf, Dissident Chorus is on view from 29 August to 1 November 2026.

Dissident Chorus begins from the premise that sound, like water, resists containment, erodes borders, and carries memory. The biennial approaches sound waves and frequencies as connective tissue between the sea and exploited human and non-human bodies, asking how non-verbal sonic practices can become tools for communication, healing, and resistance. At a time when speech is increasingly captured and distorted by technological and political systems, the exhibition turns to vibration, rhythm, and embodied presence as alternative forms of expression. Staged in Busan, a port city shaped by migration, refuge, and protest, Dissident Chorus understands dissent as a living force that appears, disperses, and returns like the tide.

Lara Ögel (1987, İzmir) works across sculpture, installation, and moving image to explore how we navigate shifting and unstable worlds. Rooted in feeling, mythology, memory, and material, her practice weaves together personal narratives and universal symbols. Drawing on research into literature, archaeology, and belief systems, Ögel reflects on how we situate ourselves within the world and construct meaning. Her immersive environments create poetic and sensorial spaces where the mythic and the everyday, the personal and the collective, converge through a shared visual language.

About Busan Biennale

The Busan Biennale is an international contemporary art exhibition held every other year, with its roots in the Pusan Youth Biennale, an effort that emerged in 1981 through the independent participation and commitment of Busan-area artists. Busan, a coastal city and major port at the southern tip of Korea, is a global center of economic, social, and cultural importance. The Busan Biennale reflects these strengths through exhibitions known for openness and dynamic appeal, uncovering overlooked aspects of the city.