Showcase: Tom Sachs - Space Programme: Infinity

Tom Sachs plays by his own rules. His distinctive brand of bricolage has earned him international awards as well as collaborations with the likes of Nike and Helinox. In 2007, the New-Yorker launched his Space Program, an exhibition-shaped ode to the 1969 moon landing. Since then, Sachs has also undertaken missions to Mars, Europa, Jupiter and Vesta. Now, almost two decades on, the latest incantation finds itself housed at Seoul’s Dongdaemun Design Plaza, and pays homage to space missions past, whilst also introducing some brand new works from his most recent expeditions.

Upon entry to Space Program: Infinity, you’re politely asked to cleanse yourself of “earthly impurities” by passing through the sanitation room.

Once clean, a winding maze of tunnels leads you around what is a highly immersive and imagination-capturing exhibition.

After passing a miniaturised moon landing film set, converted pinball machine and a collection of astronauts’ tools, I found myself at an alien autopsy in the form of a prawn, held flat by a series of metal arms, under the watch of a live camera feed. The combination of mechanical parts and biological materials is a specific focus of Sachs’ work here and features again in his Geologic Samples - a collection of dried shrimp and fish cast in resin.

It’s important to note that, whilst a lot of Sachs’ work can at first look to be thuggish or unruly, there is an exactness to his work which is essential for its success.

Take the below piece of a bricolage control panel, for example. The trademark splintering plywood complete with exposed screws and roughly-applied white stain are understandably present. However, the control panel is actually a perfect replica from 1969; every button, every dial and every lever painstakingly true to the original

It’s this balance which makes Sachs’ projects work. Without the attitude, it would be joyless - without the order, it would be pointless.

The final tunnel opens up onto an atrium. You’re met by what is perhaps Sachs’ most known sculpture, a full-sized replica of the Lunar Landing Module, of course realised in perfectly-flawed bricolage. The plywood and steel structure houses everything an astronaut could ever need; replete with drinks cabinet and rubber chicken.

The atrium also contains a lunar rover, workshop and quarantine zone. The crowning moment of the exhibition however, is a screening of the launch sequence, acted out in exacting detail by the Sachs team so as to replicate the 1969 original. This is bravely self-indulgent and in any other setting it would have been easy to lose interest, turn away or skip past. However, this finale is played out on upwards of thirty screens, arranged to tower above you, turning you into an interplanetary Winston Smith: unable to look away.

As a disclaimer, I’ve been a fan of Tom Sachs’ work from afar for almost ten years now. The reason I’m saying this, is that it makes it hard for me to be unbiased when writing about my first time seeing his work in the flesh. However, you needn’t worry, as my bias does nothing to inflate the absolute perfection of this exhibition. From start to finish, the show is exciting, entertaining and challenging.

The third wall is broken throughout, with Sachs inviting you to interact with many of the pieces; hidden cameras in claustrophobic spaces often making it so that you’re part of the art. A couple of times whilst climbing through some of the pieces, my bag swung and knocked into the walls. In any other gallery setting, I’d be worried of damaging or breaking something. However, here, in spite of the many hand-scribbled DO NOT TOUCH and DON’T FUCKING TOUCH signs, I can’t help but think that Tom wouldn’t care - it’s kind of the point.

P.S.

Many articles about exhibitions fail to enter the realm of the gift shop, but I think it’s an important aspect. So I will.

There are two ways to do merch. The first is PRINT A LOGO ONTO A £0.10 TOTE BAG AND SELL IT FOR £10.00. The other, however, is CREATE ACTUAL PRODUCTS WHICH ARE UNIQUE, HIGH-QUALITY AND WILL LAST LONGER THAN THE WALK HOME. Space Program: Infinity has thankfully done the latter. The prints, bags and NASA toothbrushes are sold from a Space Bodega, complete with ATM. The commercially-required retail opportunity is a seamless continuation of the exhibition itself, the perfect way to add economic viability to a project without losing soul.