No signs. No explanations. There are just the senses that guide and the mind that interprets. Having debuted in London’s Saatchi Gallery, Beyond the Road has come to The Hyundai Seoul ALT.1 gallery in Yeouido, opening for the first time in Asia. The exhibition provides an immersive sensory experience where visitors can freely walk around while they build their own interpretations. It takes visitors to another world, inviting them to escape reality and dive into a colorful, dazzling world.

Beyond the Road, created by creative director Stephen Dobbie and producer Colin Nightingale, is the result of a collaboration of various artists who contributed to the building of 33 different areas, all of which have their own music, color, and artwork. Film directors Alfonso Cuaron and Danny Boyle, band UNKLE, and perfume designer Azzi Glasser are just a few of the artists that participated in the exhibition, designing the multi-sensory experience that permeates throughout the place.

What makes this exposition different from the one in London? For the Seoul exhibition, Dobbie and Nightingale included two new artworks inspired by Korean culture. This decision resulted from the creators’ desire to find connections with the society where the exhibition will take place. “From what we understand [magpies] bring good omen [in Korea]. It led us to some awesome series of old traditional paintings which feature a tiger and magpie,” commented Nightingale, according to Korea JoongAng Daily.

Diving Into the Place

The exhibition opens up with a neon sign: “There will be no miracles here.” After walking past this piece created by Nathan Coley, the immersive journey begins. Beyond the Road consists of several types of artworks, including holograms, movies, sculptures, and paintings. Through the positioning and combination of different artworks, it creates various worlds, each having its own unique characteristic and mood. It makes the visitors feel as if they are walking through Wonderland where there is nothing that guides them but instinct. There is no right or wrong. The complete void of explanation of the works allows the visitors to take away their own unique experience.

As the visitors walk through the gallery, they encounter different colors, lighting, and types of art. It seems as if there is no correlation between the different spaces. One area is full of bright, neon lights. Another area is dark and heavy. The next has a street-like mood with graffiti written all over it. Then, the area suddenly becomes a movie theater. With every few steps a new world appears before the eyes, engulfing the visitor with a multimedia experience while giving aesthetic satisfaction.

Creating Effect Through Lighting

Every room has its own mood. Dim lighting or darkness is one of the recurrent strategies used by the creators. In one of the rooms, there are only a few lights that are focused on the artwork, which capture the audience’s sight. In another room, the dim lights are utilized to create a dark atmosphere where the multimedia artwork is the one main projector of light.

Another recurring lighting strategy is the use of vibrant and neon colors. In one area, strong colors of red, green, pink, and blue separate each room; here there can be found a corridor where potent lights change colors and brightness as they become incorporated with UNKLE’s tracks. Each room indeed has its own distinct atmosphere and artwork. For instance, the red room named “Olfacere” presents the perfume called “Build and Destroy” as well as a neon sign with a lyric from UNKLE’s track, “Requiem.” On the other hand, the green room presents more simplicity with only an old TV and a chair.

Hypnotic Sound

One of the senses that visitors are constantly asked to utilize is hearing. All 33 of the areas contain speakers that emit the soundtrack from UNKLE’s albums The Road: Part I and The Road: Part II. All spaces have music playing in the background that accompanies the artworks. More than 100 speakers from L-Acoustics and L-ISA are utilized to create a 3D effect. Sounds come from all directions, allowing the visitors to experience melodic satisfaction with movies and videos being screened with sounds as their background.

UNKLE is a British triphop and electronica musical outfit founded by James Lavelle, whose music has no boundaries in terms of style and expression, putting people in a trance whenever they listen to it. According to NME, Stephen Dobbie explained that the objective of planting music in the background was to “have people listen to music in a brand-new way,” making them stop and listen. Therefore, it is unsurprising that they chose UNKLE’s album, which transcends genres.

Beyond the Road provides visitors with a unique, 360-degree experience that allows free interpretation. It captivates the senses, especially sight and hearing, by creating several worlds that exhibit their own theme. It is as if each area exists on its own, offering distinct ideas of an aesthetically pleasing depiction of the world. The exhibition has garnered attention for its beauty and set-like design, making it a perfect place to take pictures. However, to enjoy the exhibition properly, it is advised to put the cameras away because Beyond the Road is a place to embrace the unknown and reflect.

Exhibition Information

Title: Beyond the Road

Venue: The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido

Date: From July 23 to November 28

Opening Hours: 10:30 A.M. to 8:00 P.M.

Ticket Price: 20,000 won for adults / 16,000 won for teenagers