Daniel Arsham's 'fictional archaeology' transports viewers to Seoul in 3024

Installation view of American artist Daniel Arsham's solo exhibition, "Seoul 3024," at the Lotte Museum of Art in southern Seoul / Courtesy of LMOA

What kind of present-day objects might people unearth from the ruins of Seoul as “artifacts” a thousand years from now? What will that fortuitous rendezvous between 2024 and 3024 look like?

It’s a concept that, unfortunately, proves to be more interesting in theoretical premise than in execution at American artist Daniel Arsham’s latest solo exhibition, “Seoul 3024,” at the Lotte Museum of Art (LMOA) in southern Seoul.

A major conceptual thread running through the works of the 43-year-old art star since the 2010s is “fictional archaeology,” where he reimagines everyday cultural icons of today as eroded relics uncovered in the distant future, thus placing viewers in a state of chronological ambiguity.

Such a line of thinking is partly influenced by the artist’s childhood memory of witnessing the devastation left by Hurricane Andrew in Miami in 1992, where he realized the fleeting nature of human civilization.

Installation view of Daniel Arsham's "Seoul 3024" at the Lotte Museum of Art / Courtesy of LMOA

Daniel Arsham's "Bronze Eroded Bust of Rome Deified" (2022) / Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin

The origin of the idea of a “future relic” came after his visit to an excavation site on Easter Island off the coast of Chile.

“[It stemmed from] thinking about objects — mostly technological objects, things that we identify with the present — being remade in materials that we associate with a long period of time,” he said at the LMOA during a recent press preview. “When we see an object that is from our own life rendered in this fashion, it’s very confusing. And I think the beauty of the gesture, the idea lies in that confusion.”

Among the over 250 sculptures, paintings and site-specific installations on display at the museum are modern articles — cellphones, Walkman portable audio players, camcorders, radios, movie posters and even Pokémon trading cards — cast in ancient geological materials such as volcanic ash, amethyst and calcite.

With their surfaces corroded and cracked, as if in a state of decay after being “dug up” at an archaeological excavation site, these sculptures appear to be historical artifacts, visual remnants of the past.

Further exploring this uncanny interaction between the contemporary and the historical are Arsham’s reconstructed classical sculptures from the Louvre collection — including the Venus de Milo, Hamadryades and Roman busts — with crystals growing inside them to indicate the passage of time.

For the Korean show, the artist also unveiled two new expansive paintings: “Athena Helmeted Found in Bukhansan 3024” and “Rome Deified Found in Bukhansan 3024.” Each imagines a post-apocalyptic scenario where Seoul’s Mount Bukhan, now in ruins, has become the site of classical European artifact discoveries.

Daniel Arsham's "Athena Helmeted Found in Bukhansan 3024" (2024), left, and "Rome Deified Found in Bukhansan 3024" (2024) / Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin

While intriguing on their own, Arsham’s installations and paintings overall lack a visual or cultural connection to the exhibition’s host city, aside from the title, “Seoul 3024” — much like his ongoing Italian version of the show, “Venice 3024.”

Why would antiques from the West be unearthed on a mountain in Asia, whose depicted landscape hardly bears any physical resemblance to the actual verdant scenery of Mount Bukhan? Why would rugby balls, Vogue magazine covers and “Friday the 13th” masks represent the relics unearthed in a Seoul excavation site?

Despite their site-specific nature, it seems the same pieces could be showcased in other cities with slightly tweaked titles without much difference.

However, the show itself — minus the misleading title — can provide an intuitive, enjoyable experience for visitors wishing to get a glimpse of the creative philosophy that has guided the artist over the past two decades.

“Seoul 3024” runs through Oct. 13 at the Lotte Museum of Art.

Installation view of Daniel Arsham's "Seoul 3024" at the Lotte Museum of Art / Courtesy of LMOA