Artist Daniel Arsham imagines Seoul in 3024 for exhibition at Lotte Museum of Art

Artist Daniel Arsham's “Seoul 3024” exhibition at the Lotte Museum of Art features 250 "fictional archeology pieces" depicting Korea's capital 1,000 years from now.

″Amethyst Crystallized Seated Pikachu″ (2020) by Daniel Arsham [SHIN MIN-HEE]

The Lotte Museum of Art in Songpa District, southern Seoul, has recently undergone renovations to become a white excavation site filled with corroded sculptures portraying Venus of Milo, ancient Roman busts and... Pokémon?

These so-called relics by Daniel Arsham may not have actually existed in the past, but they are the 43-year-old artist’s ideas of what the future may look like. Some 250 of his “fictional archeology” pieces are now on view in his “Seoul 3024” exhibition at the museum.

For over two decades, Arsham has been reproducing cultural icons by casting them in raw materials like volcanic ash, amethyst and calcite. They seem so lifelike that it’s easy to believe that they are actual historical artifacts with their surfaces eroded and displaying cracks as if they were damaged by some supernatural force.

Installation view of ″Seoul 3024,″ the solo exhibition of Daniel Arsham at the Lotte Museum of Art in Songpa District, southern Seoul [SHIN MIN-HEE]

“When we see objects in our life rendered in this fashion, it’s very confusing,” Arsham said during a press conference at the museum last week. “I think the beauty of the work lies in this confusion.”

The whole concept behind his fictional archeology concept began in 2010, after he visited an excavation site on Easter Island in the South Pacific. The role of ancient relics and how they interpreted history intrigued him, and gave him the idea to create artworks that would lean toward fictional subjects.

″Athena Helmeted Found in Bukhansan 3024″ by Daniel Arsham [LOTTE MUSEUM OF ART]

He created two new paintings in sci-fi, post-apocalyptic scenarios on display at the show, imagining Seoul a 1,000 years from now — hence the 3024 in the exhibit’s name. Titled “Athena Helmeted Found in Bukhansan 3024” and “Rome Deified Found in Bukhansan 3024,” Mount Bukhan in Korea’s capital city is depicted to be in ruins and is fabricated to feature ancient European relics.

Why would Western objects be dug up in an East Asian nation? It doesn’t make sense, but that’s the whole point of it. Arsham aims to transcend reality and offers an opportunity for visitors to imagine a completely new dimension.

″Still Life with Bust of Deified Rome Blue″ (2023) by Daniel Arsham [LOTTE MUSEUM OF ART]

“My job as an artist is to create symbols that are translating an idea that doesn’t use language,” he said. “They use visual cues. The direct intention is up to the viewer.”

“Seoul 3024” ends Oct. 13. The Lotte Museum of Art is open from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day. Tickets are 20,000 won ($14) for adults.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]