Connect, BTS - London

CONNECT in LONDON

by

Abbey Quirk

Connect, BTS London

Hey! My name's Abbey Quirk, I’m 17 and live in the UK.

I have been an army since the start of 2018 and was intrigued when I first saw the Connect, BTS dates on the comeback schedule. My instant assumption was that it would be similar to Armypedia, but to all of our surprise it wasn't! Finding out that connect BTS was a global project based in 5 cities, bringing together 22 artists to redefine the relationship between art and music instantly had me intrigued. The second we were told the true motive of this project I knew I had to see it for myself and become a part of such an amazing idea.

After a 3-and-a-half-hour long train journey to London and a short travel to the Serpentine Gallery, my friend and I had officially made it to the exhibition. The London part of Connect, BTS was split across two art galleries, only a short walk over the bridge from each other.

When we got to the exhibition a staff member handed us the leaflets specifically for Catharsis - the piece done by Jakob Kudsk Steenen for the project. The staff member explained that we should join a live stream and put on headphones so we could hear the sounds that went with the display. The screen and sounds portrayed the more hidden features of nature that in modern day I believe we don't take time to appreciate. It truly opened my eyes to nature and the 'music' hidden within it, along with how technology, when under the right influence, can perfectly depict these hidden treasures.

The second half of the exhibition 'The Deep Listener’ was a mesmerizing sculpture that came to life. For this we needed to download an app and then aim our device at the art piece. The minute we did this the entire thing came to life! An audio-visual  trail grew from the art piece travelling through the ecosystem of Serpentine Park. It focused our attention on five of London's species in greater depth. To say the least, it was breath-taking.
The way Jakob Kidst Steensen captured the sound of each species and made the exhibition interactive was mind-blowing. Leaving the exhibition I realised how much of nature is missed in daily life and became even more thankful to BTS and Jacok Kudst Steensen for bringing it to my attention. It was definitely a brilliant introduction for those who haven't yet experienced art exhibitions or galleries in the past and I believe it will encourage them to want to see more in the future. BTS, along with all these artists,  truly have brought art and music together.

Personally, I would never have reached out to the world of art had BTS not been involved. For me, seeing this exhibition was like seeing a deeper part of them and a better understanding for their love of art and what's hidden within it. I believe this project perfectly reflects BTS as it has brought people together very similar to them. BTS are now known for joining people all over the world, breaking barriers, fighting stereotypes and giving music a deeper meaning for so many of us. This was a completely new comeback approach for BTS, and has now made Map of the Soul 7 more than just a comeback. It’s now a journey that will mean something different to all of us who get involved, all the while bringing both people and art forms together. We are truly lucky to have BTS in our lives to show us these things and show us how they feel.

Thank you for reading about my connect BTS in London experience!

If you would like to connect with Abbey you can follow them on Twitter - @cloudskth @paradisenwh 

Photo's courtesy of Abbey Quirk