Space Project

Project

Photo taken by Johannes Ocker, Sofia Hultén Class Project

Project : Nothing to see here
Former Kaufhof Department Store | Stuttgart | May 28 – June 11, 2025

"Nothing to see here" was a group exhibition featuring around 20 students from the sculpture class of Prof. Sofia Hultén at the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart. It took place in the display windows of the vacant Galleria Kaufhof in downtown Stuttgart.
The project’s conceptual starting point was the inaccessibility of the exhibition space: visitors could only view the works from outside. To focus the viewer’s gaze on the artworks and obscure the rest of the interior, a floor-to-ceiling covering was installed behind the windows — creating an artificial horizon that limited perspective and offered a new spatial experience. The exhibition featured large-scale installations, sculptural objects, as well as video and sound works that engaged with visibility, accessibility, and the public realm. It remained continuously accessible — 24/7, barrier-free, in the heart of the city. The project was independently conceived, organized, and realized by students of Hultén’s class, aiming to activate unused urban spaces for contemporary art beyond established institutions.

Photo taken by Johannes Ocker, Regie: Benedikt Waldmann

Project : Morgen und gestern, aber niemals heute
Art association Kunstraum 34 | Stuttgart | 2023-24

The exhibition spaces of Kunstraum34 extend across both ground level and the first basement floor. Originally repurposed from a bunker of indeterminate age, the venue boasts an intriguing layout. While the first basement floor serves as a conventional exhibition space, deeper within lies an abandoned bunker that has remained untouched since 1986 -
its dusty residue from past exhibitions still eerily intact. In 2024, a group of ten academy students transformed not only the existing first basement exhibition space but also the long-neglected bunker into
a cohesive yet expanded exhibition area. This innovative intervention revitalized
the forsaken sections of the bunker, turning them into spaces for reflection and artistic exploration.
Project Concept : At first glance, the first basement floor of Kunstraum34 presents an anticlimactic scene: the exhibition has officially concluded, leaving artworks wrapped in plastic and packaged, awaiting transportation back to their creators. Visitors might initially feel disappointment, tempted to turn away. However, the exhibition does not end there. Within this space, a ticket booth and a docent are stationed. After gathering groups of around seven ticketed visitors, the docent leads them down to an enigmatic bunker whose depth and structure remain a mystery. As the visitors descend further, they enter a bunker strikingly similar to the first basement exhibition space. Yet, here,
the experience takes on a surreal dimension. Projected videos in this secondary bunker showcase moments from "past exhibition openings." Through mapping techniques, scenes from the 2024 exhibition on
the first basement floor are superimposed onto the bunker walls.
This deliberate layering of spaces and times creates a profound sense of disorientation. The physical separation between the original exhibition space and the abandoned bunker, combined with the temporal divide between past and present, blurs the boundaries of reality. Visitors find themselves navigating not only through a labyrinthine structure but also through fragmented timelines—a dual experience that challenges perceptions of space and time. Through this project, the students not only redefined the use of an abandoned space but also invited audiences to engage with the tension between memory and presence, transformation and stasis. The expanded exhibition of Kunstraum34 stands as a testament to the enduring power of artistic ingenuity
in reshaping how we interact with and interpret the spaces around us.

Red flavor | Personal Work in the Project Morgen und gestern,aber niemals heute
| Video Installation, 03:45 | 2023-24

The bunker reminds us of two major episodes in the history of our country:
The Korean War (the war between the North and the South) and the military dictatorship.
Recently, bunkers were discovered in the urban centers of South Korea. The news of the "bunker discovery" reminds me that we (South Korea) are still in a "state of armistice," even though we enjoy the freedoms of a democratic system. It feels like a cold steel blade pressing against my warm flesh and skin.
In 2020, North Korea blew up a "joint inter-Korean liaison office."
Our Cold War may be worsening year by year, but there was a time when it was less severe.
I watched a joint cultural event between North and South Korea on TV. It was a K-pop idol performance.
A camera panned over the faces of North Koreans watching the K-pop performance.
In contrast to their emotional, tearful appearances before "Kim Jong-un," their appearance in front of the camera was stiff. It was as if they were controlling their emotions. This scene stayed with me for a long time. The contrast between the lively K-pop song and the lifeless, rigid faces of the North Koreans was striking.
I thought about how I could represent the "mood" of that time in an organized way, and decided to use direct images to show the process.
Work note, 2023

3D animation by Hyunjin Kang, sound by Kyeong‑eun Min

Twelve students from the academy participated in a seven-day residency at Kunstverein Mosbach, Altes Schlachthaus, engaging in a critical exploration of the site’s historicity and spatial narratives.
As emerging practitioners, they drew inspiration from the residual structures and atmospheres of the former slaughterhouse, employing media installation, performance, sound, and drawing to intersect contemporary sensibilities with the building’s layered past, thereby re-inscribing its history through artistic practice.

Project : Post Production
Art association Neckar-Odenwald
Altes Schlachthaus | Mosbach | 2022

The works were created with a focus on the history and atmosphere of the exhibition space during a 7-day residency at Kunstverein Mosbach, Altes Schlachthaus, a venue that emerged from the restoration of the former slaughterhouse.
In the Middle Ages, burning candles were used as timekeepers. Similarly, in my video work, wax from a burning candle drips, causing a nail embedded in the candle to fall into an iron bowl. The resulting "dong" sound fades away shortly after.
The video installation, developed on-site, presents this sequence with a temporal shift. The captured moment becomes the past but repeats endlessly in the video without a clear beginning or end.

Unser Zeitgefühl ist variabel;

Rhythmen…

…rieselnde Sanduhr

…schwingendes Pendel

…fallende Tropfeneine herabbrennende Kerze

binden das Zeitgefühl und hinterlassen Spuren vergangener Geschwindigkeiten.

Text by Christoph Siegel

When You Hear the Sound ‘Dong’ and See Me,
It’s Already Too Late |Personal Work in the Project Post Production
| Art association Neckar-Odenwald, Mosbach | 2022

Project : Ping Pong
Gallery Hausgeburt | Stuttgart | 2022

'Ping Pong' is a unique exhibition project that breaks away from traditional exhibition formats, divided into two groups and held in a single space. Each group independently organizes its own exhibition while also featuring a flexible approach to swapping and arranging works. There is no set preparation period for the exhibition, and the works from each group are sequentially exchanged to fit into the context of the other group’s exhibition. In other words, the works are not fixed to a specific space, and the process of works being removed or replaced becomes an important part of the exhibition experience. Visitors not only observe the displayed works but also experience the moments when works are installed and taken down. This implies that the exhibition functions as a transit space, continuously evolving over time into a dynamic environment.

Opening in this room and...| Personal Work in the Project Ping Pong | Gallery Hausgeburt | stuttgart | 2022

Site-specific installation

As part of the 'Ping Pong' project, I chose "Opening in this room and..." as my personal theme. This work originated from the emotions and impressions I had
when I first encountered a bunker of unknown origin,
and based on that experience,
I created an installation work utilizing light.
-
Upon entering the underground space, the cold air and faint light,
which drew attention,
were felt.
Where did the light come from?
Closer to the light, a window, installed at an angle, visible. Leaves fallen through the window... What connection is created by the light entering between inside and outside? Does it mean that the connection strengthens
when the leaves are illuminated more brightly?

Work note 19.05.2022

Opening in this room and...
Personal Work in the Project Ping Pong
| Light, leaves, variable Installation
| stuttgart | 2022

Project : Observation
Photography| 500-Meter Radius from My Place, South Korea, Stuttgart | 2020-21

During the 2020/21 pandemic, the same location within a 500-meter radius of my residence in Stuttgart and Seoul was photographed for approximately 10 months, while staying in these areas as recommended by the 'stay-at-home' guidelines during participation in the 'Observation' project.

Project : Observation
< Lawn mowing >, photography
| 500-Meter Radius from My Place | Stuttgart | 2020

Project : Raum
Exhibition view at Graben (academy-run exhibition space) | State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart | 2020

A 6-meter-high film tunnel was installed in a three-story room. A person can enter the tunnel from below.
The apparent privacy of the person turns out to be an illusion, as the upper part of the tunnel is open and visible from above.

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