moon & jeon and urban-think tank broadcast 'news from nowhere' in zurich

moon & jeon and urban-think tank broadcast ‘news from nowhere’ in zurich
all images courtesy of urban-think tank

‘news from nowhere: zürich laboratory’ by moon & jeon with urban-think tank
the migros museum for gegenwartskunst, zürich, switzerland
on display until november 8th, 2015

korean artists, moon kyungwon and jeon joonho have teamed up with design collective urban-think tank to launch the latest version of the ongoing project ‘news from nowhere’. located in the migros museum for gegenwartskunst, the exhibition brings together artists, architects, designers, scientists, and documentarians in order to discuss important issues facing contemporary society.

the design consists of a converted bicycle, which records images and sounds

urban-think tank collaborated with moon & jeon to develop a novel adaptation of the classical agora — the place of assembly as well as festive congregation in ancient greece — in order to ‘reclaim’ urban space. in their vision, the traditionally static agora has been mobilized, as it is able to leave the exhibition to roam the urban environment. the design consists of a converted bicycle (mobile agora (mothership)), which records images and sounds and plays them back, as well as movable stands for spectators (mobile agora (tribune)) that can be folded and deployed outside, on streets, sidewalks, and plazas.

the ensemble is intended as movable infrastructure enabling the residents of a city to talk to each other

the ensemble is intended as infrastructure enabling the residents of a city to talk to each other and share ideas. influenced by mobile street vendors’ carts, the bicycle is equipped with media appliances facilitating interaction in a range of formats: microphones, speakers, screens, projectors, and various recording devices.

influenced by mobile street vendors’ carts, the bicycle is equipped with media appliances

in the mobile agora, U-TT and moon & jeon have built a replica of an essential element of ancient democracy enhanced and brought up to date by mobility and multimedia capability. the lead designers of the tribunes and mothership were diego ceresuela, alfredo brillembourg & hubert klumpner. their mobile agora transforms the museum into a site of interaction and communication by serving as a platform for lectures, discussions, and workshops, while also preserving traces of zurich’s urban environment.

the design facilitates interaction in a range of formats

during a performance event held in the run-up to the exhibition, the sound artists and engineers nadine schütz, zlatko baracskai, and marcel aubert recorded zurich’s urban noises and combined them with music and sounds from all over the world to create a distinctive global urban composition.

the traditionally static agora has been mobilized, able to leave the exhibition to roam the urban environment

in addition, urban-think tank and their spin-off film company, gran horizonte media, produced a new short film inspired by the work of moon & jeon. entitled ‘la continuación del mundo‘, the movie portrays a young resident of medellin, colombia as she explores the ways in which cities form memories about the future and predict the past. the film was directed and filmed by daniel schwartz. the exhibition remains open until november 8, 2015.

the movable stands for spectators can be folded and deployed outside

the mobile agora transforms the museum into a site of interaction and communication

the work preserves traces of zurich’s urban environment
image by nicolas duc

the exhibition remains open until november 8, 2015
image by nicolas duc