Gangdong-gu Art Covered Electrical Boxes | 2022

Designer: Yonghyuk Shin, Gangdong-gu Urban Landscape Project Team, Kimustudio Creative Design Team, Kimustudio, Seoul, South Korea
Manufacturer: Gangdong-gu Office, Seoul, South Korea

Electrical boxes are mounted in the street to control the electrical supply. However, many of them are covered in illegal flyposters and blight the urban landscape. Non-adhesive sheets were attached to the electrical boxes to prevent people from sticking flyposters, but they were damaged and fell off easily.

How can we prevent illegal flyposting and beautify the urban landscape? This is why Gangdong-gu started the Urban Gallery Project in partnership with KIMU STUDIO. They designed installations that keep electric boxes safe functionally, make it difficult to attach illegal advertisements, and at the same time give pedestrians a visual pleasure.

KIMU STUDIO works with "Special Designers" whose minds are so pure like children. Society may see them as developmentally disabled, but they see them as very special designers. Designers at KIMU STUDIO collaborate with the "special designers" and complete the artworks that reflect the strengths of each designer. This collaboration system helps them to create more unique contents made by all artists including the special designers.

They first demonstrated four installations on the street. The 33 artworks, which be displayed on electrical boxes in the urban streets are the results of collaboration between their "special designers (disabled designers)" and non-disabled designers, featuring a beautiful harmony of bold patterns and exceptional objects along with a unique color spectrum.

KIMU STUDIO makes poems by arranging stories to display them with artworks. These poems add a touch of humor to the artworks created by the "special designers" and ultimately bring the joy and inspiration to the lives of people.