Cuvism Magazine’s Interview with SM’s Visual & Art Director, Min Heejin

** Only EXO part

How is EXO’s recent comeback’s ‘Growl’ concept?
Street is the primary part of the concept. The moment I heard the song, I was sure it had to unwind with a school uniform. School uniforms and street looks probably don’t match, but the way they fit sentimentally made me pay attention to it. First of all, the first official album concept was unraveled largely at a school. And so, the hakwon (private educational institute) reference was drawn out with notebooks and graduation photos for the first album, and extended it to the streets for the next song. Like linking young boys’ daily lives going from school to after school in one album. I wanted to show this group EXO’s image in a friendly, yet individualistic, way through this threaded drawing.

Was this EXO’s concept from the start?
No. The world’s view of boys with supernatural powers from EXO planet was the idea of producer Lee Sooman. (not sure about this line) When I first heard it, I thought it was fun. It’s creative and unique. However, I worried that the results could vary depending on how I unravel it practically. I didn’t want to do it with the simple method of approach. I first made EXO’s own symbol and character to represent EXO planet with planets and meteors as the motif. EXO’s symbol reflects their personalities, and I modified that shape to fit the situation. The uniqueness of the ‘world’s view’ is good, but I also worried about there not being any familiarity. Depending on the way of expression, it could be felt as a distant existence. My worries lead to imaginations, and the moment I wondered, ‘What would 12 boys who suddenly fell from a alien planet do on earth?’, I slapped my knee. At that moment, my worries were gone, and everything was solved. (laughs) EXO, who had an emergency landing, will continue to repeatedly transform. There are too many things they still have to experience on the Earth. Of course, I’m thinking about ‘space’, too. (laughs) EXO’s symbol, as expected, will change depending on EXO’s condition. This time, ‘love’ and ‘friendship’ changed to the meaningful symbols of ‘kiss-♡’ and ‘hug-○’.

читать дальшеYou said you you thought of school uniforms as soon as you heard the song ‘Growl’, but I want to hear about it in more detail.
More than anything, I wanted to express our kind of hip-hop and R&B. When you think of hip-hop, it’s easy to recall showy, black hip-hop, but we wanted to stay true to more of the student-like feelings, and express it in our own, light way. The boys with supernatural powers jumped into reality. Into street boys you may happen to run into on the streets. So, the shoot for this album jacket took place in a neighborhood alley.

I don’t know if it’s because you filmed in an actual neighborhood, but the restaurant and construction signs were amusing. Also, I thought using actual streets suited the expression well.
Thank you for noticing it. Occasionally, when I come across responses like, ‘It would have looked better if the restaurant signs weren’t there’, or, ‘Why did they take these so blindly in a neighborhood?’, I feel hurt. (laughs) I just wanted to show things as is. Straightforward, just ‘reality’. I also thought if fantasy-like idols played the parts of realistic appearances in reality, inversely, it would be fun.

Looking at responses like that, you must have a lot of troubles.
Not troubles, but worries are elsewhere. I have worries about meaningful works. The general public usually come across celebrities, especially idols, in appearances where they’re always dressed up, so they’re bound to get caught up in an illusion. As a human being is someone who dreams, fantasies must be met. However, I wanted to draw out that reality in itself is beautiful. People may say it’s a grand meaning for an idol’s album, but, in this generation, I feel ‘sincerity’ is a high-priority virtue. In between the album, as resting pages, we printed photos of cute neighborhood children, as well as dogs. The place where EXO landed safely on earth and is remaining. That place is the real appearance.

I’m aware that you are preparing a special project with EXO. I’d like to ask for a simple introduction.
We’ve planned, and prepared for a special collaboration with the album, at the same time. As ‘Growl’ has been expressed through a school, street look, I thought it would be fun to do it together with a street label. To fit the individual album concept, we prepared four collaboration shops with a local street brand, with EXO’s first album as the theme. A few days ago, the members visited the stop and had a ball. You’ll be able to see shop with an amusing form on a street soon. You’ll probably get surprised by the traces of the EXO members hidden within the stores. (laughs)

Full article translation here.