In December 2024, the first ‘Correspondences’ exhibition at Factory2 in Seoul was like a letter that resembled a tranquil landscape, with 10 Korean and Finnish creators exchanging letters through handmade crafts and artworks instead of words.
In July 2025, the flow of friendship will continue to LOKAL in Helsinki, Finland. With the crystal-clear Finnish lakes as the inspiration, ‘Correspondences’ is another rendition of collaboration between Factory2 and LOKAL.
The deep resonance that comes from actions over words, intuition over explanation, comes from trust and support built over time. Friendship often asks not “what can we achieve” but “how can we be together”, and when faced with an uncertain path, heartfelt support gives us the courage to take the next step. We bring the years of friendship into the present to revisit, nurture, celebrate, and observe friendships unfold together.
Over the past decade, Factory2 and LOKAL have built an organic partnership through collaborations large and small. From ‘Typocraft Helsinki’ in Seoul in 2016, to the same exhibition series in Helsinki and Kyoto in 2017, to ‘Coming Home to Seoul’ featuring LOKAL artists in 2021, to Renata Schirm's solo exhibition ‘Myriad’ in 2022, all these collaborations are a chronicle of an ongoing friendship of mutual care and support.
In this rendition of ‘Correspondences’ at LOKAL, the artists engage with nature through their hands, allowing different senses of time and space to overlap and intertwine in one space. As they gaze at each other, engage in unspoken dialogue and respond with affection, the exhibition captures a deep, quiet “temporary commune” where long-standing relationships from different places come together for a brief stay.
