Shhh
Individual Academic Work, 2018
Madison Square Park, New York,
New York, United States
Food Exhibition in the Public Space
Mentor : Michele Y. Washington, Robin Drake
Introducing the food in Madison Square Park
Site : Madison Square Park
The project began with observing and interviewing people in the park. During that time, I realized that most of the people who pass through the park are commuters. In order to introduce this food to as many people as possible in the park, it will be more effective to entice those commuters to come into the exhibition and tell them about the story of Shikhye. Therefore, my target audience or visitor is the commuters.
Target Audience : Commuters
Commuters are indifferent to their surroundings, monotonously rushing to their destination. I want to design a food exhibition for these busy people not only to introduce them to a food, but also to add a 'slowness' to their lives, giving them a chance to relax from their everyday bustle while immersing them in a part of Korean tradition.
Exhibition Contents : Shikhye
The food at the center of the experience is Shikhye, a traditional Korean sweet beverage that is shared on traditional holidays. One of the most distinctive characteristics of the drink is that it takes six days to prepare, an involved process that includes steeping, germination, and fermentation. One goal of the exhibition is to introduce visitors to the slow and methodical process of making Shikhye, allowing them to understand that the depth of Shikhye’s flavor comes from this long traditional preparation method.
Concept : Calming Experience
The mood for the exhibition is 'a calming experience'. In order to be calm, people have to slow down, so the words 'Calm' and 'Slow' can mean the same thing. As a result, the exhibition space is designed as a quiet place. The layout of the exhibition makes commuters walk slowly to mute the sounds of their steps and the rustle of their possessions. The name of the exhibition, 'Shhh', gives the impression that people should be calm in the exhibition, enabling visitors to slow down, savor and concentrate on the story of the exhibition by using all of their senses.
Graphic
Experience Design : Timeline Space
The space is designed as a linear form of six zones, mimicking the six steps to make Shikhye. Each step is interpreted as a singular space, engaging visitors in the process. For example, the third step in making Shikhye is squeezing barley malt with hemp cloth: visitors will feel their way through a hemp fabric cave that forces them to touch the texture of the cloth as they pass. The fourth step is adding rice that is then fermented at a warm temperature for a long time: visitors walk through a corridor 100 feet long and 6 feet wide signifying the length of time of fermentation, and a gradual slope leading 7 feet underground with a media wall around the narrow corridor that slowly reacts to people’s movement helps immerse them in the process. The linear form of the space, similar to a step-by-step recipe, offers a natural shortcut in the middle of a lawn area in the park without the pressure of a winding and ultimately time-consuming exhibition.
For more information, visit www.changhyunlee.com
