작업 소개

57STUDIO는 2019년 서울문화재단 최초예술지원사업에 선정되어 자체 기획한 LENZ Magazine Project를 진행하였습니다. LENZ는 텍스트를 청각과 시각으로 확장하여 새로운 해석과 감각적 접근을 제안하는 Audio Visual Magazine입니다.

이 프로젝트는 텍스트를 선정하고 이를 다양한 방식으로 해석하며, 텍스트에서 시작되는 텍스처(Text-ure)를 탐구하는 과정으로 이루어졌습니다.

두 번째 텍스처는 SBS문화재단과 국립현대미술관이 공동 운영하는 <올해의 작가상>에서 2019 올해의 작가로 선정된 이주요 작가의 프로젝트 LOVE YOUR DEPOT 입니다.

이주요 작가는 전시장에 거대한 창고를 세우며, “전시 이후 작품들은 어디로 가는가?” 라는 질문을 던집니다.이에 대해 참여 작가들과 LOVE YOUR DEPOT 멤버들, 그리고 이주요 작가가 함께 대화를 나눕니다.

이번 에피소드는 LOVE YOUR DEPOT를 만들어낸 팀디포 지로, 보리수, 깡돌이와 이야기를 나눕니다.

57STUDIO was selected for the 2019 Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture’s First Arts Support Project and carried out the LENZ Magazine Project. LENZ is an Audio-Visual Magazine that expands text into auditory and visual forms, proposing new interpretations and sensory approaches.

This project involved selecting texts and interpreting them in various ways, exploring the texture that emerges from these texts.

The second texture comes from LOVE YOUR DEPOT, a project by artist Jewyo Rhii, who was selected as the 2019 Artist of the Year by the SBS Cultural Foundation and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.

Jewyo Rhii constructs a massive warehouse in the exhibition space, posing the question: “After the show, where do the works go?” A conversation unfolds among participating artists, members of LOVE YOUR DEPOT, and Jewyo Rhii about this question.

This episode is a conversation with Team Depot’s Jiro, Borisu, and Ggangdori, the creators of LOVE YOUR DEPOT.

Lee MeeJee: Charles Esher wrote about Team Depot in his article Where Do Works Go After an Exhibition: “What draws our attention to Love Your Depot is that this exhibition does not only stay within the formal aspects of storage but suggests practical ways in which the life of the works can expand during their storage period. In Love Your Depot, Team Depot builds a workspace within the exhibition space and operates its own channels. The young creators of Team Depot, who address the meaning and interpretation of individual works stored in the warehouse, serve as intimate and persuasive mediators.” This makes us even more curious about what activities Team Depot carried out in Love Your Depot. Today, we’re here to chat with Team Depot.

Lee MeeJee: Now, we have the Team Depot members with us today. Let’s hear from each of you.

Jiro: Hello, I’m Jiro, a member of Team Depot, joining for today’s recording.

Borisu: Hello, I’m Borisu from Team Depot.

Ggangdori: I’m Ggangdori from Team Depot.

Lee MeeJee: Ggangdori, a bit more energy, please!

Ggangdori: Ggangdori!

Lee MeeJee: That’s right! Now, please introduce Ahn Jae-young, who is joining us today.

Ahn Jae-young: Hello, I’m Ahn Jae-young. But I have a question. This isn’t in the script, but is Team Depot currently operating with just the three of you? Or are there other members?

Jiro: There are five more members besides us. So, we are an organization of eight people in total.

Lee MeeJee: Where are the other members?

Borisu: They’re probably all working from home, doing their own activities. We do have an office here, right next to where we’re recording. This is where we gather for meetings or when we have gatherings.

Ahn Jae-young: So, how did Love Your Depot get started?

Ggangdori: For me, I had the opportunity to show my work to Ju-Yori at the beginning of last year, and that’s how I got to know them. Then, I received a message in August asking if I wanted to join the project, so that’s how I started.

Ahn Jae-young: How about the rest of you?

Borisu: I had a similar experience to Ggangdori. I met Ju-Yori at school before the project, and when the preparation phase started, I was invited to join.

Jiro: My story is a bit different. I first met them at a shared office in Yongsan. That’s where I heard about the project, and I thought it would be great to participate, so I joined.

Lee MeeJee: What was your impression when you first heard about the Love Your Depot project?

Borisu: In terms of Team Depot’s role, Ju-Yori always talked about the concept of “technology exchange.” At that time, I had no idea how that would be realized. It felt a bit vague.

Ggangdori: When I first heard the overall explanation of the project, I didn’t find the structure too complicated, but personally, it felt vast. Since the project had to function beyond just the museum, I felt a bit of pressure and excitement at the same time.

Jiro: I think everyone probably felt something similar. When I first heard about it, it was quite different from existing exhibitions. I had a lot of questions like, “How is this project going to function?” At that time, Ju-Yori often mentioned the importance of having conversations with young artists. I remember one question they asked, “How do you dispose of your work?” That really caught Ju-Yori off guard. It made me think a lot, and that question became the starting point for this project. I think I could really feel Ju-Yori’s emotions in it.

Ahn Jae-young: So, I’m curious. I’m sure each of you found something interesting when you first heard about the project. That point must have been the reason you eventually joined. Could you each share what caught your interest and made you want to be a part of it?

Jiro: I’ve known Ju-Yori since 10 Years Please. I had already known about Ju-Yori as an artist and really liked their work. As I mentioned earlier, I resonated a lot with the content of the project, but what stood out the most was the thought of working with Ju-Yori. I really wanted to try working with them.

Borisu: When I heard about Team Depot’s role in Love Your Depot, our job was to continue talking about the work. I’ve always enjoyed reflecting on exhibitions by myself, jotting down my thoughts. But I realized that the more I saw, the more the details would fade, and the impressions would quickly be forgotten. Here, though, I thought we’d have more time to engage deeply with the works. And, in a way, I felt that I could even develop that into my own personal work. That’s why I was intrigued.

Ggangdori: The point that caught my interest was something Borisu mentioned earlier, about the concept of “technology exchange.” Ju-Yori mentioned this at the beginning too—how they wanted people from various fields to come together and contribute to Team Depot. Since I studied visual design, I was curious about how my background could bring something diverse to the project. I think that’s what really sparked my interest in joining.

Lee MeeJee: In school, we’ve unified the name as Jewyo Rhii, but actually, Jewyo Rhii was Professor Lee Ju-Yo, right? In school, we addressed them as Professor Lee, but here, we meet them as Jewyo Rhii, the project director and leader. You’ve closely observed how the artist takes on various roles. How do you feel about the difference between Professor Lee Ju-Yo in school and Jewyo Rhii as the project director at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art?

Ggangdori: I noticed a lot of differences. It’s not just that when you’re a teacher, you’re supposed to act like a teacher, and when you’re an artist, you do the artist’s work. What I learned here is that someone who has the identity of an artist as a profession needs to be very skilled at handling many different aspects of work. To continue working for a long time, that ability is crucial. I realized that during this project. Also, I remember Jewyo Rhii once told me that I needed to build resilience. At the time, I didn’t fully understand what that meant, but now I see that to manage directing, meetings, and constant decision-making before and after exhibitions, you really need resilience. Without it, it would be hard.

Lee MeeJee: It’s important.

Borisu: The biggest difference I noticed was seeing Jewyo Rhii’s hesitation and what they were thinking during the project. I didn’t see this side of them at school. But during the project, Jewyo Rhii had to meet many people, negotiate, and keep the conversation going. In those moments, I saw them shift completely, becoming very assertive, voicing their opinions clearly, and pushing things forward.

Lee MeeJee: It was impressive. I was a bit surprised too. There’s a very multifaceted side to Jewyo Rhii. When they needed to be firm, they would say, “No, that’s not it.” But when it was time to listen to others, they would say, “Please give me some time.” Seeing that, I realized how much experience they have, working with so many people and maintaining relationships in this scene.

Ahn Jae-young: It’s experience, right?

Lee MeeJee: Yes, “experience” is the perfect word. You could really feel the depth of it.

Ahn Jae-young: Love Your Depot is the first time you’re doing this project, right? Could you tell us where it all started, the place, and how it evolved? I’m curious about that process.

Jiro: I think Borisu knows the most because she was there from the beginning.

Borisu: Before we entered the museum, we first created the works in the studio in Madu and brought the pieces that could be brought here. But here, there was only the broadcast truck in the back.

Jiro: And I first saw it in Yongsan. So, during the start of the exhibition, we mainly worked between Yongsan and Madu. Then, about 1-2 weeks before the exhibition opened, we brought everything from Madu and Yongsan to the exhibition space and started working from there.

Lee MeeJee: When Jae-young and I joined 57STUDIO, we met you three in Yongsan. What was the process like in the Yongsan studio? Could you share what kind of work you were doing there?

Jiro: The Yongsan studio, as you know, was a shared office. So, instead of doing physical work, we focused on materializing abstract and conceptual ideas. Specifically, since I was part of Team Depot, I spent a lot of time thinking about what Team Depot is and what role we should play. I had many thoughts about the team, and at the same time, I had to share those ideas with Jewyo Rhii, which led to a lot of reflection and meetings about Team Depot’s role and position. During this time, I was also figuring out what I could contribute to Team Depot, so it was a time filled with a lot of thinking and, honestly, it was quite a challenging period.

Ggangdori: As Jiro just mentioned, the process was really about forming a sense of solidarity as Team Depot. As you can tell from the name, it’s a team, and that sense of unity started to build up in the Yongsan office. Since the project was still in the conceptual stage, there wasn’t yet a physical installation in the exhibition space. So, I kept wondering how I could understand this project in my own way. I decided to use my background to communicate with people through the project. I brought in logo design drafts, worked on presentation designs when necessary, and understood the project in my own way, which helped build that sense of unity within the team.

Borisu: And the three of us also researched Jewyo Rhii’s previous work and did interviews. I think that helped us understand the project better. That’s also when we started meeting the artists whose works would be stored here, interviewing and talking to them.

Lee MeeJee: When we think of an exhibition, we might consider the process of making the artwork as the start of the work. However, when it’s a large-scale project like this, it’s not just an individual artist working alone; a team is needed. At the stage before the conceptualization, forming a shared understanding with the team is crucial. Even when things are unclear and ambiguous, spending time together, sharing thoughts, and having conversations is essential. I think that the shared office time in Yongsan must have been the period for that. Each of you contributed in your own way—Jiro by documenting with the camera, Ggangdori trying to understand the project through design, and Borisu writing and conducting interviews. Each of you has consistently contributed in your unique way from the start of the project, and I believe that has been a huge strength for Jewyo Rhii. In fact, Jewyo Rhii has mentioned several times how much of a help it’s been. It’s impressive.

Ahn Jae-young: As you mentioned earlier, the project started in the Madu studio, where you created some of the broadcast truck works, then moved to Yongsan, a shared office, and there you refined and developed the conceptual ideas. So, when did you move into the museum?

Ggangdori: I think we moved in around early October.

Jiro: I think it was actually September 4th.

Lee MeeJee: Last year, September 4th?

Ahn Jae-young: That’s five months ago.

Jiro: Before the exhibition, there was an exhibition by artist Park Seo-bo. After it ended, we had to discuss how to set up the space. We all gathered and talked about how to reconfigure the space, what color to paint the walls, and how to approach the layout.

Ahn Jae-young: So, after moving to the museum, around early September, what was the first task you worked on when you got there?

Jiro: As I mentioned earlier, we discussed how much of the wall we would remove and what color we should paint the space. We also decided what color to use for the Green Pad. As I mentioned before, I kept taking photographs. This exhibition was crucial, not just because of the display, but also because of how the exhibition was structured and built. The displays in the exhibition space were quite numerous, and my main focus was creating the visual images that went into them. That was a significant part of the work in the early stages.

Borisu: I participated in the installation process for about two weeks. I started with setting up the painting drawers from our Depot. Before other artists’ works came in, we first focused on setting up the big structures, like towers, offices, and storage spaces, that needed to be in place. After that, the works from the other artists were brought in.

Ggangdori: When I arrived, I was in charge of the overall design tasks needed for the exhibition. I also helped with miscellaneous tasks during the installation.

Lee MeeJee: Miscellaneous tasks? That’s the most important part!

Jiro: There’s a lot of work to do.

Lee MeeJee: Exactly, every little line matters.

Jiro: It’s like doing a barter exchange…

Lee MeeJee: So, after the exhibition opened, the most important role for Team Depot was during the post-opening phase. After the exhibition was set up, Team Depot’s role involved looking at the works, interpreting them, and creating content. After the works were installed, can you each share what you worked on?

Jiro: I started by making a website using the documentation I had collected. I also used the works inside to create performance-based pieces.

Ggangdori: I also worked on a performance piece. When I arrived, I had the chance to make some free-form work, going beyond just design. I wanted to explore more than just design, so I created a performance as well.

Borisu: As I mentioned earlier, I participated in the installation process, where people collaborated to build structures, and other artists’ works came in, with Jewyo Rhii making subtle adjustments. That process was really dynamic. But once the exhibition opened, the audience didn’t experience those behind-the-scenes moments. So, I created a performance video to archive and remember that process. I also did a performance talking about the piece “Escalator” by artist Jeong Ji-hyun, which is now installed at the top of the Five-Story Tower.

Lee MeeJee: Oh, was that the piece you were whispering about during the performance?

Borisu: Yes, that piece is still in the works, so I’m in the process of preparing it.

Lee MeeJee: As you mentioned earlier, it’s not just the three of you but the other five members who contributed to this project, even though they’re not here today. Could you briefly introduce them?

Ggangdori: Is it okay if I mention their names?

Lee MeeJee: Let’s go with that.

Ggangdori: So, Yeongseo is a member who created ASMR content using a unique approach. They focused on writing about Im Min-wook’s artwork in the exhibition, but did so by presenting only the sound of the writing—like the sound of a pen on paper—as ASMR content. They uploaded this onto YouTube.

Jiro: Hanbyeol, on the other hand, wrote about Team Depot’s work. If you look around the exhibition space, you’ll see some writings—those are Hanbyeol’s. After Hanbyeol wrote the pieces, Chunggeun designed them, and we displayed them as part of the exhibition.

Borisu: Sunmin already had her own YouTube channel called “Tarot Cards.” She created content where she predicted the future of the works in the exhibition, adding a mystical element to the project. As for Yerim, she worked on a performance involving her own body responding to the paintings by three different artists displayed in the painting drawers behind us.

Jiro: It seems like we did a lot of performance work. The space provided a lot of opportunity for it.

Ggangdori: Performing is an effective way to bring life to the exhibition space, so we chose to do performances.

Lee MeeJee: Exactly.

Ahn Jae-young: So, as mentioned earlier, it sounds like the work you did here at Love Your Depot really allowed you to stay and continue working within the exhibition space.

Borisu: Yes, I think, like everyone else, when I did performance work, I used this space a lot. Because it was already set up with the structures in place, it left a lot of room for imagination. It was a great place to practice. But since we couldn’t work during exhibition hours, I mostly came in the evenings.

Ggangdori: I also spent a lot of time here. Since museums have some limitations, I couldn’t use the space freely like I would in an office. However, we could still hold meetings for Team Depot or even conduct artist interviews, inviting them to the space and having public events that we could organize within the exhibition.

Jiro: As others mentioned, before the exhibition opened, we could still work freely. But once it opened, we couldn’t work the same way. Since it’s a shared office space, we couldn’t even drink water or make phone calls freely. It was a bit frustrating at first. I felt restricted because I couldn’t function as a shared office space, and to do my own work, I had to work within limited time and space. That’s why I ended up focusing on creating a website. It was my way of getting around those constraints. I wanted to post things on my phone and have them appear on the TV here right away. However, it was really difficult since the museum is underground, and there was no internet connection. Plus, being a government institution, I couldn’t access sites like Google. It was tough.