Daesung Lee Brings The Museum To Real Life

‘Futuristic Archeology’ is a project about the nomadic people of Mongolia. Despite the urbanisation of the country in recent decades, 35% of Mongolians still live the nomadic life and depend on their vast land to survive. However, their lifestyle is seriously threatened due to the environmental changes, putting a large part of the land at risk of desertification. Korean photographer Daesung Lee was inspired by a visit in a museum with well-preserved collection showing old Mongolian culture and society. With a big part of the collection amassed in America and Africa during colonial times, it appeared to Lee as a historical paradox, in which the invaders preserve the history of the defeated land. “I have thought that this nomadic life depending on their environment and land could have the same destiny as these collections due to the climate change caused by our hands,” says Lee. “We better preserve its original society or culture alive than collecting in museum as a fossil. So I have brought a conception of recreating museum diorama in a real place, real people and their livestock and real time to my work.”

All images © Daesung Lee