mutemuse

Journey

CURIOSITÉS

 

2. Journey

Travel is an unfamiliar deviation of new desires and inspiration. Adventure, exploration, tour, journey… Something we all desperately miss.


Kimi&12 <Journey>, Artwork for MUTEMUSE, 2018

#1 A Temporary Pause

Just until last year, airports were busy 24/7.

'ICN', 'JFK', 'LHR'... Baggage with different airport tags bustle out the conveyor lines. Rushing to the gate, rolling the carriers, constantly checking the display board for an update. After a few hours and a continental meal, each destination holds a surprise of fascinating cultures and intimate greeting gestures. And of course, a big smile for the camera at the most renowned landmark.

The statue of Juliet's right chest in Verona would be rubbed to make your love come true, and the Charging Bull in the Wall Streets of New York City to bring wealth and luck. Spain's Buñol covered with crushed tomato red from La Tomatina, Venice San Marco Square filled with colorful masks and fancy costumes before Lent, and England's Glastonbury Festival where musical spirits gather from all over the world... Clichéd, travels were always filled with beautiful moments.

The strangely freeing sense of getting lost, the exotic flavor worth that extra bite, and the magical moment of falling in love with a stranger at first sight. The adventures that were worth taking the risk against embarrassments, awkwardness, or fear.

Look back on the latest trip. We're nibbling on past memories like biscuits hidden in the cupboard, waiting for the moment to once again, depart the crowded airport, and capture the smiles on our faces.

Written by - Michelle Park / Edited by - Noelle Yang

Related product: Journey Artwork Strap


Marco Polo <The Travels of Marco Polo> Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris 1958

#2 Marco, Polo!

Marco Polo, the Venetian merchant known to have introduced the Eastern culture to the Europeans, was also branded as the liar of his generation.

"The Travels of Marco Polo" is a collection of stories about his journeys to Asia, including the Yuan Dynasty, China, with his father and uncle. Later used as a reference for creating the world atlas, Marco Polo's book was a must-read for European Kings in the 14th and 15th centuries. Regardless of the factual validity, the vivid and detailed accounts of the undiscovered were revolutionary in itself.

However, those suspicious of the unknown continuously doubted his stories. Marco Polo's accounts of the ‘fearful big snakes(crocodiles)’, ‘unicorns(rhinos)’, and ‘spotted lions(tigers)’ were unbelievable. ‘Black stones that would burn stronger than wood(coal)’ must have sounded as preposterous as alchemy to Westerners at the time. Hence, the great explorer was cursed for life, even pressured on his deathbed to confess to the lies. (Of course, his last words were, “I have not told half of what I saw.”)

Thanks to Marco Polo and all the travelers and explorers who helped discover each corner of the world through such 'implausible' adventures, humanity has, at last, been able to evolve into the 'traveler, Homo Viator.’ Would Marco Polo have ever imagined such an understated profession of travel to become the most indulged experience for modern people, and that such 'unbelievable stories' are now more in demand than ever?

Written by - Michelle Park / Edited by - Noelle Yang


Bruce Conner <Suitcase> 1961-63

#3 Suitcase

Objects that have kept its place for a while leave a trace in time. The growing moss under a rock or the ivy growing on the wall of a historic school.

Rocks and walls build their virtue by holding their place in time, but what about a suitcase that’s destined to travel? The lifetime duty of a suitcase is simply to explore the world, luggage stickers pasted all over, stored in the closet only waiting to go on yet another journey.

Yet, the suitcase turned into what seems like a 17th century Flemish still life; the melted candle wax covered the handle and sealed the opening device, making it impossible to open the luggage. Bruce Conner's "Suitcase(1961-63)" serves as an allegory of artworks that are permanently destined in galleries and museums, emphasizing the physical immobility of contemporary artworks by granting an antithetical role to the object that is meant to be itinerant.

While we are all forced to stay static today, Conner's "Suitcase" serves as another metaphor. A metaphor for the suitcase stored in a corner as a stationary piece of furniture, unable to leave of free will. Even so, the suitcase waiting for the day to leave once again. The suitcase we all dream of departing on a new journey with.

Written by - Noelle Yang


Jean-Pierre Lorand <Rêve de Voyage> 2019

#4 Dreaming of a Journey

Travel is a fairly intricate form of desire. The curiosity of the unknown, escape from the ordinary, exotic stimulations, romantic encounters, and the thrill of making decisions ... We connect these experiences together into one journey and call it travel. So, simply getting on a plane and landing on a distant location should not be the defining factor of an excursion.

Travels can be like such: Meditating at the break of dawn, carefully navigating the mind. Unfolding the mysteries of the obscure narrative. Staring at an unfamiliar scenery or dressing up to spend a day alone at a gallery. Riding a bike or sitting at the front seat on a bus is sometimes enough to feel a sense of freedom. Perhaps a drive to the airport or a cup of coffee for the excitement of a departure. Flipping through old photographs and diaries to travel back in time or observing a plant slowly grow. A mother’s magnificent journey of witnessing a child walk for the first time. These are all parts of the joy and the different ways we call travel.

Pick and choose your favorite moments, carefully untie them one by one throughout the day. Dozing off into a lunatic dream, testing a foreign recipe, or listening to the latest single of your favorite band. Take your mind off for just a brief moment. Your journey has already begun.

Written by - Noelle Yang


<Cy Twombly’s studio in Rome> Vogue 1966

#5 Home

You smell the coziness of your home. The familiar noises and textures of the furniture quickly fill the atmosphere. The sound of the door hinges, the sofa fitted to my body over time. Home is a space that allows you to be defenseless and vulnerable over any other.

Home, the beginning and end of a trip. Among all travel vocabularies, 'tour' comes from the Greek word 'tornos', a carpenter's tool for drawing circles. To travel is to draw a circle with time and space. Home is the place of return for all those who have left.

The reason why travel is so pursued is that there is a place to come back. They say a trip without a homecoming is merely wandering with anxiety. A flawless, clean hotel room is only desirable because the unconditional comforts of my snug sheets awaits back home.

Travelers go around to absorb the splendidness of all kinds of places far away, but eventually return to where they can unwind and fall asleep, deep and sound; the origin of the trip where everything is in place, the place of belonging, and most importantly, where check out is never at 10 AM.

Written by - Noelle Yang

Directed by MICHELLE PARK, NOELLE YANG
Written by NOELLE YANG, MICHELLE PARK
Edited by NOELLE YANG, BORA KANG
Translation by MICHELLE PARK(eng)
Designed by JUNSEON YU
Cover Illustration by BAÉ

Produced by STUDIO PARENTHÈSE

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