SPACE April 2024 (No. 677)
‘MMCA Gwacheon Project 2023: Link’, on view at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) Gwacheon until Oct. 20, is part of the museum’s plans for a long-term space revitalisation project. The MMCA Gwacheon Project (hereinafter Gwacheon Project) began in 2020 with the installation of
pavilions at the Sculpture Garden. In 2021, the Art Bus Shelter (Diagnonal Thoughts, ‘( ) function’) was set up at the shuttle bus stop, and in 2022, a large-scale canopy installation (JOHO Architecture, Garden in Time) was created in the Rooftop, reimagining the spaces inside and outside the museum.
This year, under the theme of ‘link’, the previous Gwacheon Projects have been interpreted, connecting them to our current time and space. The site is formed of the three circular zones of the MMCA Gwacheon. The Circular Garden and the Rooftop Lounge on the second floor and the Rooftop on the third floor are connected horizontally and vertically, encompassing both inside and outside spaces of MMCA Gwacheon. The outdoor Circular Garden features diverse clusters of plants; the indoor Rooftop Lounge surrounding it provides views of the garden through twelve windows; the Rooftop above offers a panoramic view of both spaces simultaneously. ‘MMCA Gwacheon Project 2023: Link’ enhances their connections visually and auditorily while seeking the point where the three areas merge into one space- time. Music, paintings, poetry, and essays build bridges here.
Ascending the slope following the The More, The Better (1988) by Nam June Paik located in the lobby of the MMCA Gwacheon, it naturally leads to the Rooftop Lounge at the second floor. Eyes are drawn to the swaying grass and trees outside the window, while a subtle yet captivating timbre is produced by the music that emanates softly. The ambient music playlist curated by music director and composer Jung Seunghyun fills the space. As music critic Kim Hokyung says, this presents ‘an opportunity to expand and deepen sensory experiences in a disappearing museum filled with various visual stimuli’. Jung drew inspiration from the temporality and seasonal sensibilities represented by the twelve windows of the Circular Garden, creating a one-hour playlist symbolising the flow of life from inception to regression. ‘0’ and ‘Vitality’, respectively placed at the beginning and end of the list, were created for the Gwacheon Project 2023.
The artists Suyeont and Eom Yujeong visualise the charm of the space through drawings that capture the architecture and plants of the museum from different perspectives. Suyeont delicately portrays various moments both inside and outside the MMCA Gwacheon on grid paper using soft-coloured pencils, creating a fairy-tale-like representation. Eom Yujeong expresses the vitality of the plants in the Circular Garden using oil sticks and acrylic ink in her own unique language. Their drawings which capture various sides of the museum, captivate the visitors, and help them realise the connection between the three spaces within the circular area of the museum.
Finally, an art book documenting the Gwacheon Project 2023 features over sixty drawings by Suyeont and Eom Yujeong, along with Kim Hokyung’s commentary on Jung Seunghyun’s playlist and poet Park Semi’s writing, ‘Through Twelve Windows into the Circular Garden’. From the ‘first window’ to the ‘twelfth window,’ warmly infused with conversations with garden designer Hwang Jihae, who cultivated the ecology of the Circular Garden, and interactions with lives – flowers, birds, vines, branches, and so on – encountered in the garden, another layer of memory is introduced to the space. The Gwacheon Project will continue until 2026, when MMCA Gwacheon celebrates its 40th anniversary. It is hoped that new experiences and memories of MMCA Gwacheon will be added year on year, bringing life and vitality to every corner of the museum space.
Drawings exhibited at the Rooftop Lounge on the second floor ©Youn Yaelim
View of the Circular Garden on the second floor and Rooftop on the third floor ©Youn Yaelim
