The "No Space, Just A Place" exhibition, viewable online from home

GUCCI

Gucci Supports Seoul's Contemporary Art Scene

The exhibition "No Space, Just A Place," supported by Gucci, is on view at Daelim Museum in Seoul, South Korea, until July 12, 2020. The exhibition'sofficial websitealso allows for online viewing.

Text by OZAKI Sayaka | Edit by TSUCHIDA Takashi

An Exhibition Born from the Reflections of Gucci Creative Director Alessandro Michele

The "No Space, Just A Place" exhibition is a multi-layered project led by Gucci to support Seoul's vibrant cultural landscape and contemporary art scene. Curated by Myriam Ben-Salah, the exhibition centers on the concept of "eterotopia" (other spaces) by Gucci Creative Director Alessandro Michele.

In Seoul, a movement emerged organically in the late 1990s in opposition to the neutrality of commercial galleries. Since then, projects have unfolded in various spaces, challenging and questioning the existing art world. Independent/alternative spaces, where political or experimental endeavors have taken place, have always been underground. Their venues—storefronts, lofts, warehouses—were often overlooked by the art scene's mainstream. This exhibition shines a spotlight on these radical spaces, focusing on their potential as "alternatives" that confront authority while contemplating autonomy, and foreshadowing new future narratives.

Ten independent art spaces have been selected for this exhibition, with projects born from dialogues with curators unfolding across three floors of Daelim Museum in unique display methods. All projects are linked by the idea of alternative spaces as utopian sites, breathing life into stories that bring new power through the understanding of otherness, the exploration of minority identities, and queer politics. These are based on the exhibition's mission, derived from Alessandro Michele's societal reflections, which embodies the ethical and aesthetic values of the relationship between genre and gender, increased environmental awareness, free self-expression, and an ageless anthropological manifesto.

Lee Kang Seung, Covers (QueerArch) (detail), 2019/2020. Exhibition view, No Space Just a Place, Daelim Museum, Seoul (2020)

Lee Kang Seung, Covers (QueerArch), 2019/2020. Exhibition view, No Space Just a Place, Daelim Museum, Seoul (2020)

For example, Lee Kang Seung's wallpaper installation "Covers (QueerArch)" presents an alternative perspective on the 40-year history of the queer community in Korea, drawing from collections within QueerArch (a platform archiving Korean queer culture), while re-telling the stories of individuals left out of the historical mainstream.

Olivia Erlanger, Ida, Ida, Ida!, 2020. Exhibition view, No Space Just a Place, Daelim Museum, Seoul (2020) — Olivia Erlanger, Ida, Ida, Ida! Exhibition view, No Space Just a Place, Daelim Museum, Seoul (2020)

Olivia Erlanger, Ida, Ida, Ida! (detail), 2020. Exhibition view, No Space Just a Place, Daelim Museum, Seoul (2020) — Olivia Erlanger, Ida, Ida, Ida! (detail) Exhibition view, No Space Just a Place, Daelim Museum, Seoul (2020)

Olivia Erlanger's surreal intervention "Ida, Ida, Ida!" transforms the museum space into a laundromat, a place where time simply passes. This laundromat features mermaid tails, embodying a chimerical existence devoid of concepts like gender, thereby posing questions about fluidity, hybridity, and gender archetypes.

The exhibition runs until July 12, 2020, andits official websiteoffers a VR viewing experience with audio guides in Korean and English. You can explore the artworks from home, unhindered by travel restrictions.