Feast for THE EYES

Hi Johanna! This is the fourth time that you are working with Van Cleef & Arpels. What made working on Time, Nature, Love in Seoul extra special?

- IAN LEE

It is true this is the fourth time we show the Time, Nature, Love exhibition, and each time it has been very different and differently inspiring! Place is such an important aspect of my work, so in designing the show for the D Museum in Seoul, it was important to integrate something of local culture as well as be influenced and guided by the Museum space itself.

I was very much influenced and excited by the subtle, beautiful colours of the Celadon porcelains — antique and contemporary works, which tell a very important cultural story of Korea. This colour, so sophisticated and natural, yet vibrant and unique, became the base-color for the exhibition, and all the other colours we used are complimentary pastel colours that worked with the scheme.

I was also inspired by Korean calligraphy and specifically the modern Korean alphabet. This very geometrical and simple code may be seen in the plans of the exhibition: not literal characters, of course, but the rhythm and shapes, becoming pathways and rooms in the plan. Also — sorry — manhwa! I love the pastel colours and the bold contrasting lines. It is all in our project, at least in spirit!

South Korea is so rich in culture. Was it hard identifying exactly what you wanted to draw from for the exhibition scenography?