There's an idyllic harbor in the center of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Seoul, Korea (MMCA), where colorful rowboats appear to be floating. But at a closer glance, Port of Reflections, Argentinian artist Leandro Erlich's largest site-specific installation to date, turns out to be a surprising visual paradox. The work reveals its secrets from above: the boats are actually suspended in midair, and the moving liquid that they appear to be floating in is the space below, a room with walls covered in black carpet.
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The installation is moored in the physical and cultural relations between Korea and Argentina, and to a larger extent the distances and connections between other nations in the world. Erlich also aimed to create “a bizarre experience where the real and the unreal, or the real and the illusory, are exquisitely blended in surreal yet ambient surroundings,” as explained in the museum's presentation text. Port of Reflections joins Erlich's similarly mind-bending past works, including mirrored buildings that viewers can virtually climb, fake swimming pools that show people walking below the water’s surface, and a lone facade in the sky.Port of Reflections will be on display at the Seoul Box at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Seoul, Korea, through September 15, 2015. Check out more images of the installation below:
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