ONE AND J. +1 is pleased to present the exhibition Voyager collaborated with Artifacts and eazel at New Spring Project in Seoul from 4–28 November 2021. ONE AND J. +1 seeks to keep pace with the constant changes in the art market and maintain an open and inquisitive attitude. We also desire to reform ONE AND J. +1 into a platform that facilities global communication through the medium of art. Voyager is the first step in this new endeavor. To create an exhibition that facilitates open communication between young artists and visitors, we prepared the exhibition Voyager in collaboration with the online art startups Artifacts and eazel, both of which are breathing new life into the art world.

Artifacts, which strives to allow anyone to participate in the art market at any time and anywhere, is an online art platform that centralizes fragmented information on the art market and shares this information in an open and straightforward manner. Its main service, called Artifacts Research, is the basis of its mobile application. When a visitor takes a picture of a work they are interested, the application uses the image to search for related information, such as information on the artist and artwork as well as purchasing and contact information.

Currently based in Seoul, New York, and Hong Kong, eazel is all in one service with the most advanced technology in the industry for any art institutions. Eazel's tours allow anyone around the world to experience a venue's program and engage with the artworks presented, long after the exhibition ends. Eazel also produces high quality content on exhibitions and artists as well as artworks and institutions. In this way, these online art platforms have contributed to building a new infrastructure within the art world that can transcend time and space, fostering far-reaching connections between artists and art lovers.

ONE AND J. +1 is impressed by Artifacts and eazel's enterprising spirit and ability to adapt to changes in the art ecosystem, and, therefore, we invited these two platforms, who have mainly worked in online environments, to participate in an offline exhibition space. ONE AND J. +1, Artifacts, and eazel all share a common interest in 'creating an environment and media that can foster healthy and productive relationships within the art world,' and the three institutions have formed a close relationship throughout the exhibition. Within the space of this collaborative exhibition, the works of these three Korean young artists have been presented in a variety of ways. Artists Soljee Ahn, Jung Jin, and Sunkyung Ji, who all employ their own unique visual language by constructing various layers within their works, formed an organic relationship with Artifacts, eazel, and ONE AND J. +1. By adding additional layers and complexity to the exhibition, ONE AND J. +1, the three artists, and the two online art platforms collaborated and influenced each other in a synergistic relationship. We invite visitors to enjoy the immersive space of the gallery and add their own layers to the exhibition.

The exhibition Voyager encourages visitors to not just 'look at' the exhibition but adopt a more active attitude toward experiencing the art. Artifacts and eazel home in on each artist's unique characteristics and present them within the exhibition space to promote communication between the viewer and the artwork. For this exhibition, eazel sought to create a highly immersive exhibition experience. They installed directional loudspeakers near the artworks that play 40-second Audio guides, interviewed the artists to capture their daily lives in the studio and creative process, used virtual reality scanning to create Immersive studio visit, and created nine types of Category cards that provide visitors with hints that allow them to get to know the artist and their works better. Artifacts, which seeks to provide easy access to transparent information on the art market, has developed an app that features an image search function called Artifacts Research. This function allows users to take a photo of an artwork and receive instant, detailed information. The app also offers a social service called Essay that allows users to write about artworks and share their writings freely with others.

For this exhibition, the reception space has been converted into a lounge. Usually, after viewing an exhibition, visitors leave the gallery, and the experience ends abruptly. Therefore, this lounge space is meant to satisfy visitors' thirst for more interaction with the art. In this comfortable and relaxing space, visitors can extend their experience of the exhibition. Resting on a chair in the lounge, visitors can use the Artifacts' application to discover more information about the artists or record their reflections on the exhibition by writing an Essay. Moreover, whereas an exhibition space is where one can experience artworks as finished pieces, the lounge provides a variety of contents that allow visitors vivid access into the artists' daily lives and their work process. Artist Jung Jin, whose artworks have gradually grown in size, presents small drawings that mark the beginning of her works. Soljee Ahn, who works by organizing her ideas in writing and then materializing them through her works, presents various work notes, drawings, and by-products of her creative process. Sunkyung Ji hopes that visitors enjoy experiencing her works, and for this purpose, she incorporates humor by displaying her works as if they were at a laundromat, wrapping her double-sided drawings in clear plastic and hanging them from hangers. At her studio, Sunkyung Ji has placed a series of small objects on a windowsill. For this exhibition, these objects have been reproduced in the lounge. A thin shelf similar to the windowsill in her studio was installed in the lounge, and the actual objects from her studio were placed on it. Eazel mobilizes all these details to create an Immersive studio visit. Visitors can take a virtual reality tour of the artists' studios while reading interviews with the artists about their daily lives in the studio.

We hope that the exhibition Voyager will serve as an ecosystem and environment where the artists, gallery, and online art platforms can coexist. We encourage visitors to freely explore the art in this new and innovative art ecosystem. Bon voyage!

Press release courtesy ONE AND J. Gallery.