Space Dancers, 2023 (Unfold-X)

Robot installation at  Seoul Art Space Mullae, Seoul, S.Korea, 2023

(Robot and instant noodle package, 2023)

Unfold X 2023: Deliberate and Rapid Transplant,

Curator: Jieon Lee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnGMQVik54Y

Space Dancer, Robot and Instant noodle packages, ~17x22x14cm, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjuj9yzTf_A

Space Dancer, Rehearsal before opening, 2023

Space Dancer, Robot and Instant Noodle Package, Variable size (approx. 19 × 25 × 15 cm), 2023

1.The image of the future society depicted in the science books I read as a child appeared fantastical to me. With the advancement of science and technology, people were said to wear silver clothing resembling spacesuits, and school excursions or field trips would take place on the Moon or Mars. The development of genetic technology would create new livestock—such as creatures with the head of a rabbit and the body of a cow—possessing both high fertility and abundant meat, thereby eliminating hunger altogether. Furthermore, deadly diseases and social problems would be resolved, allowing people to live long, peaceful lives.

Strangely enough, I now live in the future that my childhood self once imagined. Yet the reality of this “future” is quite different from what I had envisioned. No one walks around in silver, spacesuit-like clothing; people simply wear ordinary clothes, differing only in style from those of my childhood. Conflicts and crises between nations, along with the wars and poverty they produce, have not changed significantly. The food shortages that genetic technology was expected to resolve have instead shifted into debates surrounding GMOs. Moreover, amid unforeseen global pandemics and the escalating climate crisis, we now live in an era where collective extinction is a real concern. This is the “future” we are confronted with today.

2.In my twenties, due to financial hardship, I often had to rely on instant noodles for many of my meals. Since I believed that this was not unique to me but rather a common condition shared by many of my peers, it did not feel particularly sorrowful. Instead, I would console myself by imagining a future in which, as a middle-aged adult, I would be eating humble home-cooked meals.

As time has passed, I have now reached middle age, yet I still frequently substitute meals with instant noodles. One day, as usual, while opening a package to cook them, I encountered the shimmering “silver of the future” on the inside of the wrapper. In that moment, I came face to face with my younger self—the child who once imagined a peaceful life on the Moon or other planets, dressed in a silver spacesuit, as seen in the books I had read. I encountered that version of myself within the reflective interior of the noodle packaging.

(The inside of instant noodle packaging appears silver because it contains an aluminum foil layer designed to block light and preserve freshness.)

스페이스 댄서(Space dancer), 로봇과 라면봉지, 가변크기 (약 19x25x15cm), 2023

1. 내가 어렸을 적 읽었던 과학책들이 보여준 미래 사회의 모습은 환상적이었다. 과학기술의 발달로 사람들은 우주복처럼 보이는 은색 옷을 입고 다니며, 소풍이나 수학여행을 달이나 화성에서 보내게 될 것이라고 했다. 유전자 기술의 발달은 토끼의 머리에 소의 몸을 가진, 번식력이 높고 육량이 풍부한 새로운 가축들을 만들어낼 것이며, 그로 인해 더 이상 굶는 일은 사라질 것이라 하였다. 나아가 치명적인 질병과 사회적 문제들은 모두 해결되어 사람들은 그저 오래오래 평화롭게 살게 될 것이라 했다.

신기하게도 지금의 나는 어린 내가 상상하던 그 미래에 살고 있다. 하지만 그 ‘미래’의 현실은 내가 상상했던 세계와 사뭇 다르다. 아무도 우주복처럼 보이는 은색 옷을 입고 다니지 않으며, 사람들은 단지 스타일만 어릴 적과 다를 뿐 여전히 평범한 옷을 입고 있다. 국가 간의 갈등과 위기, 그로 인한 전쟁과 빈곤 역시 크게 달라지지 않았으며, 유전자 기술이 해결할 것이라 하던 식량 문제는 GMO 이슈로 전환되었다. 게다가 상상치 못했던 팬데믹과 기후 위기 속에서, 우리는 공멸을 우려하는 시대에 살고 있다. 이것이 지금 우리가 마주한 ‘미래’다.

2. 나는 20대 때 경제적 이유로 많은 끼니를 라면으로 채워야 했다. 그런 현실이 나만의 상황이 아니라 대부분의 또래 역시 비슷했을 것이라 생각했기에 크게 서글프지는 않았다. 대신, 중년이 되면 소박한 집밥을 먹고 있을 미래의 나를 상상하며 궁핍을 달래곤 하였다.

세월이 흘러 나는 중년이 되었지만, 여전히 라면으로 식사를 대신하는 경우가 잦다. 여느 날처럼 라면을 끓이기 위해 봉지를 뜯는 순간, 나는 라면 봉지 안쪽에서 반짝이는 ‘미래의 은색’을 마주했다. 어릴 적 읽었던 책 속에서 보았던 은빛 우주복을 입고, 달이나 다른 행성에서의 평화로운 삶을 상상하던 어린 날의 나를 그날의 라면 봉지 속에서 만나게 되었다.

(라면 봉지의 내부는 빛을 차단해 신선도를 유지하기 위해 알루미늄 포일 성분을 사용하기에 때문에 은색을 띤다.)