
Older residents of Suwon, South Korea, will remember a narrow-gauge railway that took the Su-In Line train through a landscape of beaches and salterns from 1937 to 1995. Originally used to move salt during imperial Japanese rule, the railway became a primary means of transportation for low-income laborers and students after the Korean War. Seoul-based Yong Ju Lee Architecture is looking to reinvigorate the faded memory for a new generation of South Koreans using this pixelated, stainless steel memorial composed of two interpretive sculptures.

Dispersion, a pair of sculptures that appear to melt or disintegrate into their surroundings, is built to the dimensions of the original Su-In Line train, including its narrow 762mm (2.5-foot) width, which made for a very cramped commute.

Dispersion 1 is an exterior restoration of the train that starts off pixelated and dematerialized, but then solidifies, or vice versa, depending upon the viewer’s angle. Dispersion 2, a second car that trails closely behind, reimagines the former train’s interior. It features a seated woman’s silhouette on one side, invoking an atmosphere of the past and allowing visitors of the memorial to join her.

Both parts of the sculpture are built entirely from stainless steel, to both reflect and contrast the current surroundings. The installation lives on the grounds of the former railway's final stop in Su-In Line Memorial Park.



