We are ‘Nanji people.’ We moved to Nanji-do, which is composed of a huge mass of waste matter, to escape from the mundane concepts that are so prevalent in the Korean art arena and which are spreading like an oil spill on the surface of the sea: the critics who ceaselessly demand alibis from artists that keeps forcing them to reveal their national identity as Korean; and the fashions in the art market that change every day according to the taste of housewives in Gangnam, an opulent area of Seoul. We are artists who like experimenting and playing with things from perspectives unlike any other in the rest of the world. As such, we have the privilege of being able to enjoy more freedom in Korea than anyone else. However, we have been suppressing our exploding imaginations due to our poverty and limited space, as well as to others’ attention. In search of genuine freedom under the leadership of Park, our captain, we formed a community in Nanji-do, a place where nobody comes. Then we picked up a load of trash and built the Nanji Residency with that trash.
The Nanji Residency is not a residency space; rather; it is a space base called SEMA 110-248-463566. Recently, a planet called QUIRA 1218, which is 22 light years away from, and has a similar environment to, the Earth, was discovered. This outer planet is the only space where we can realize our intention free from the interference of any system, format or government officials.
We immediately constructed a kind of transmission/reception tower. Others have misconstrued it as a transmission tower and feel pity for us, but the tower is being used as a radio telescope to determine whether there is any civilized living organism on QUIRA 1218. A nice hydrogen fuel tank has also been built next to the Hangang River. It is decent enough to travel 22 light years. If there is not enough fuel, we can stop by the Sun. We have also built two space ships, one for women, the other for men. The ships are now disguised as exhibition halls. We have built all these facilities by extracting materials from the waste matter on Nanji-do. It took us eight years to complete them.
It is now time to depart. We must leave now. The engine of the space base can no longer stand the pressure of the hydrogen tank. As lubricating oil is leaking through cracks on the cooling box of the engine, a smell like gasoline pervades everything here. We must escape this year, before the base explodes.
According to the calendar of the earth, we will hold a farewell party at 5pm on June 13, 2014 before departing to Quira1218. We will open our spacecraft, and serve our space food to our visitors. We will also showcase the information we have obtained from our observations of space. The radio telescope of the transmission tower has confirmed that organisms similar to human beings are living on QUIRA 1218. It has been confirmed that they live by hunting and fishing---the way of life led by humans before the agricultural revolution. All the things we do will become ‘initial’. They will also become the first legend in the history of art to last into later generations. We hope that visitors will congratulate our glorious new beginning with pleasure.
Viewing point
The 2014 NANJI ART SHOW II 『FTS, We are going to space!』is the 2nd special exhibition of artworks by domestic artists in 8th term of SeMA NANJI RESIDENCY run by the Seoul Museum of Art. 「NANJI ART SHOW」, which has been planned by artists who are part of the residency programs, will be held in seven times until the end of December when their residency period ends. ■ SeMA NANJI RESIDENCY
