Food Art

On June 2 at 7:00 p.m., the opening of “Sundae Icecream” at Seoul’s Daehakro Zero-one Design Center basement wasn’t like an exhibition center but rather an exciting playhouse for the young.

Food artist Oh Jeong-mi, wearing clothes emblazoned with words like “crunch” or “slurp,” continuously toasted bread and gave them out after generously spreading them with butter and sugar in one area. In another area, VJ Jiro and DJ Ho-joon executed a visual performance in which music and images were linked and an anonymous punk artist “Jack,” wearing a mask for “The Jack,” a one-eyed rabbit, enjoyed “playing trains” with visitors, reliving a childhood pastime.

Oh said, “Art doesn’t need to be deep,” as she continued to toast bread. “I’m satisfied if visitors come here now, eat bread and listen to music, and accept what’s going on here socially and culturally.” The young visitors who filled the exhibition center said they all felt “joy” and “energy” there despite the chaotic atmosphere.

Ten industrial designers, motion graphic artists, writers, and artists participated in the current exhibition at Kookmin University’s Zero-one Design Center, revealing pieces with individual slogans including “Sunday is a day of discovery” (Emil Goh), “Sunday is a game” (Jiro and Ho-joon), and “Sunday is a happy meal” (Cho Gyeong-gyu). Many pieces involved viewer interaction. There was a modern “kaleidoscope” which involved motion graphics entitled “If you look, your heart might explode,” (Song Ju-myeong), and a “water xylophone” (Sohn Jeong-rim) which made noises if you touched the water. You could also try mixing music and images using Jiro and Ho-jun’s “Bbongbbong” arcade game-like machine. “Jack,” introduced through blogs, represented the minority alienated from society as well as misfits. If you drew a picture of Jack on a paper cup or posterboard, you could become “Jack,” too.

Every Sunday at 12:00 p.m., “Oh Jeong-mi’s Sunday Brunch performance” is held, offering coffee and toast. On June 4 when visitors came for the first brunch, “Usually at exhibitions, you encounter a rigid and uncomfortable atmosphere, but since you can sit down on a sofa with the artists and talk to them, it was like the gap between the audience and the exhibition had disappeared,” they said happily. Exhibition until July 2. Admission 4,000 won. 02-745-2491, www.zeroonecenter.com

Mi-Seok Koh mskoh119@donga.com