Jaha Koo (he/him) is a South Korean theater/performance maker, music composer and videographer. His artistic practice oscillates between multimedia and performance, encompassing his own music, video, text and robotic objects. His most recent project, the Hamartia Trilogy, includes Lolling and Rolling (2015), Cuckoo (2017), and The History of Korean Western Theatre (2020). The two latter parts came to SPRING in 2019 and 2022. The trilogy represents a long-term exploration of the political landscape, colonial history and cultural identity of East Asia. Thematically, it focuses on structural issues in Korean society and how the inescapable past tragically affects our lives today. This year, he is returning to Utrecht with his new creation, Haribo Kimchi. Jaha Koo majored in Theatre Studies (BFA, 2011) at Korea National University of Arts and earned a master’s degree (MA, 2016) at DAS Theatre in Amsterdam.
Photo credits: Bea Borgers