Music you can see, smell and touch

Installation view of the immersive exhibition "Beyond the Road" / Courtesy of Beyond the Road

'Beyond the Road' premieres in Seoul

By Park Han-sol

Stepping into the Hyundai Seoul Alt. 1 gallery in Seoul's Yeongdeungpo District, visitors are met with a neon-lit arch, while an electronic melody inches closer and closer until it completely surrounds them.

Once they enter the maze-like interior, it is up to them to decide which of the surreal spectacles of music, scent and light to follow in more than 30 distinct rooms ― whether it be a chapel with an ominous reflecting pool, a graffitied bus stop and a tunnel, or a space featuring a bust locking eyes with whoever enters it.

This immersive sensory experience is part of the exhibition "Beyond the Road," where the mix of sounds and visual effects highlights the displayed paintings, sculptures, videos and installations. Since its debut in London's Saatchi Gallery in 2019, Seoul has stepped up as its first host in Asia.

Creative director Stephen Dobbie, left, and producer Colin Nightingale / Courtesy of Beyond the Road

The exhibition is presented in an interactive format, where the visitors get to be the ones choosing their own route and interpretation of the nameless visual arts and media pieces. The only guiding element is the music of British electronic musician James Lavelle and his band UNKLE.

For the last two decades, the show's creatives ― producer Colin Nightingale and director Stephen Dobbie ― have been a part of Punchdrunk, the British theater company that ushered in the genre of "immersive theater." One of their most popular works is "Sleep No More," a reimagining of Shakespeare's classic tragedy "Macbeth," where spectators are given free rein to choose where to go and what scene to watch.

The show aims to allow audiences to experience music through a new medium different from existing methods such as concerts and streaming, the two explained.

Installation view of "Beyond the Road" / Courtesy of Beyond the Road

Whereas "Beyond the Road" showcased 17 rooms in London, Seoul's exhibition will present a total of 33 surreal-themed spaces, decked with some 100 immersive speakers and lighting.

The participating artists include Oscar-winning film directors Danny Boyle and Alfonso Cuaron, as well as perfume designer Azzi Glasser and multimedia artist Tupac Martir. Boyle's cinematic reinterpretation of the TV show "Trust" plays in loop in a neon pink-lit room, while a five-minute-long clip of Cuaron's newly edited "Roma" (2018) greets visitors in another room.

One of the unique highlights of Seoul's showcase is the two artworks featuring a magpie and a tiger, both familiar faces in Korea's folk paintings and tales, created by taxidermist Polly Morgan and contemporary artist Ivy Johnson, respectively.

"I heard that a magpie in Korea is considered as a bird of good omen. In the U.K., the animal is known for its habit to collect shiny objects, and we wanted it to symbolize our creative work of collecting music," Nightingale explained.

The exhibition will serve as "the first taste of future entertainment," said Park Ju-young, CEO of the event organizer Ms. Jackson.

"Beyond the Road" runs through Nov. 28 at the Hyundai Seoul Alt. 1 gallery.

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