Visitors to an exhibit in the Seoul Museum of Art may have trouble spotting its latest show Invisible People. Why? It’s hidden throughout the walls of the gallery.
Tucked away in the bathrooms, placed beside the cheesecake stand in the cafe and nestled in the gift shop offerings – these tiny replicas of ‘Invisible People’ are all based on real human stories taken from the UN’s refugee agency for the exhibit.
Cheil Worldwide, who partnered with the UN agency to produce the exhibit, chose 30 stories to feature from their books. Highlighting the plight of being a refugee, and how it affects your place in society, the exhibition challenges museum-goers to take a second look at their neighbours.
Five refugees in the show defected from North Korea to South Korea, with the remaining exhibit cases taken from those who fled Mali, Ivory Coast, Bangladesh, Congo, and South Sudan.
When visitors spot the miniature statues, they can scan a QR code with their smartphone, giving them access to a video of the refugee telling their story. Visitors can also send messages of encouragement to the people featured.
The videos were all conducted by Cheil employees, who later used the footage to mould the figurines based to the likeness of the people speaking to the project.
Cheil’s partner, the Seoul Museum of Art, was keen to take on a social issue. Speaking at the opening of the exhibit, Gahee Park, a curator at the museum said:
“In contemporary art it’s not only about beauty or aesthetics – we try to engage more with society”
Check out one of the exhibit videos for a taste of the exhibit.
Video via UNCHR
