SPACE Aug 2024 (No. 681)
Installation view of The Clarity Unseen and the Blurriness Seen / Images courtesy of Museum SODA
Installation view of Unknown / Images courtesy of Museum SODA
The exhibition ‘Hello, World!_Enter Your Voice’ opened on June 7 in the outdoor spaces of Museum SODA. This exhibition is part of the public art project ‘The City is a Museum’ (covered in SPACE No. 669), which Museum SODA has been overseeing in Hwaseong-si since 2020. The title ‘Hello, world!’ is a symbolic phrase often used as the first example when learning computer programming languages, akin to greeting a new world. The exhibition aims to capture messages sent to the world by various people within the pavilion. The museum commissioned three teams of architects to create display boards constructed from easily-assembled and disassembled steel scaffolding and which allow the voices of members of the public, collected via the internet, to be experienced in text form.
ground architects (principal, Kim Hanjoong), drew inspiration from the cyclical nature of scaffolding, which is repeatedly assembled and dismantled across construction sites. Inspired by the guiding characteristics of scaffolding as having a permanent life in a city also layered with memories of the past, he created The Clarity Unseen and the Blurriness Seen. Voices taken from individuals and groups are converted into text and displayed on vertical and horizontal structures, respectively. Kim ensures that words like ‘everyone’ and ‘together’ stand out clearly on the vertical pavilion, while the text on the horizontal pavilion is fragmented and difficult to read. This contrast symbolises how collective messages in vertical structures are easily publicised and made prominent, whereas individual voices on the horizontal displays become fragmented and fade away, reflecting a societal phenomenon whereby personal messages are often lost or overlooked.
SOAP (co-principal, Kwon Soonyup), created Unknown, a pavilion designed in a long tunnel structure where scaffolding crosses in an X-shape. This pavilion effectively functions as a billboard, conveying messages through banners installed on its exterior. However, as one walks through the structure, it offers a novel spatial experience by directing the gaze vertically towards the sky. The closer one gets, the harder it becomes to discern the word ‘unknown’ displayed on the structure’s surface, yet paradoxically, this setup acts as a device that stimulates curiosity about nature, thereby providing viewers with a fresh perspective.
Practice (co-principals, Ahn Seohu, Lee Sisan) focus on the site- specific nature of the pavilion. Sublimity of Figures, set in a natural green space, contrasts starkly with the surrounding apartment complexes, seemingly untouched by human hands. Visitors traverse a sandy area and encounter benches made of scaffolding, drawing them towards the pavilion through lush greenery. Chains draped over the pavilion’s outer walls selectively invite nature in, and the sound of these chains clinking in the wind enhances one’s sensory experience of the site. This pavilion, built from industrial materials, encourages the rediscovery of nature’s sublimity.
This exhibition, which experiments with the communication possibilities between individuals and collectives, as well as between the urban and the natural, based on the characteristics of scaffolding, will run until Sep. 7. However, as the scaffolding used in the exhibition will be repeatedly assembled and dismantled, continuing its life throughout the city, their messages will echo endlessly, spreading across various urban landscapes.
