Daniel Arsham gives glimpse of thousand years from now

One rarely imagines how the present world would be remembered and seen a thousand years later. American artist Daniel Arsham’s solo exhibition at Lotte Museum of Art in Seoul does just that.

Arsham has shown works based on the concept of “fictional archaeology” that he created inspired by archaeologists. The artist imagines everyday objects of today as artifacts excavated in the future, creating an ambiguity about the period we inhabit.

The exhibition titled “Daniel Arsham: Seoul 3024” features more than 250 pieces of work by the artist that span more than 25 years. The artist also unveiled two large-scale paintings themed around Seoul a thousand years from now.

The paintings titled “Athena Helmeted Found in Bukhansan 3024” and “Rome Deified Found in Bukhansan 3024” are set against the backdrop of Seoul’s Bukhan Mountain in the future. The paintings were completed earlier this year.

Talking about the colors he uses, Arsham said he is colorblind.

“I have evolved many of the different universes in my painting and one of the things that you will notice about the tonality of many of these works is that the color is very particular and a lot of this has to do with color blindness,” Arsham said during a press conference held at the museum Thursday.

“In each of these works, there is a single tonality that ranges from black to white with a slight change in hues.”

The installation titled “Excavation Site” depicts a future excavation site in the ruins of Seoul in 3024, where objects like smartphones, shoes and cameras are unearthed as ancient relics.

Arsham said he was inspired by his visit to Easter Island in Chile, famous for its monumental statues of Moai created between the 13th and 16th centuries.

“This is where the origin of the idea of the future relic or the fictional archaeology came about, thinking about present day objects,” he said. “Each moment in which you arrive is the future. You have already arrived at it.”

Arsham's works encompass various eras, times and cultures from reinterpretations of “Venus de Milo,” the ancient sculpture housed in the Louvre Museum to the pop culture icon of Pokemon, the Japanese anime series.

The artist is showing “Venice 3024” in Venice, Italy to coincide with the Venice Biennale 2024. The Seoul exhibition runs through Oct. 13.