SPACE June 2023 (No. 667)
The architectural photographer Kim Yongkwan’s solo exhibition will be held from May 4 to Aug. 6 at the Design Gallery located on the first floor of the Design Lab at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP). This exhibition is special as it sheds light on the possibilities of the photographic medium rather than on buildings, based on the genre charcteristics of architectural photography. Kim has been photographing the works of famous domestic and foreign architects, building his own unique perspective on architecture over the past 30 years. He perceives architecture as an object that creates startling new landscapes in relation to its natural or urban surroundings, rather than recognising buildings as independent of their environments. In this exhibition, 39 works selected from his vast collection of photographs will be presented. The selected collection consists of photographs of famous works of architecture, including the DDP, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Gwacheon, the Ewha Womans University Campus Complex, the Amorepacific Headquarters, as well as photographs of Itami Jun’s architecture, whose works are highly regarded by the public, and works that reveal the artist’s own curiosity for structural forms. The images in the exhibition are not the refined images of façades that first come to mind when we think of the term ‘architectural photography’. Rather, they are closer to images that reveal vivid expressions of architecture within the context of a landscape. In addition, all of the exhibited works are printed in a size of more than 100cm in width and 150cm in height, giving the impression of being in the actual place. The Biotopia Stone Museum (2005), which stands alone in a snow-covered area, shows the face of a building that breathes in harmony with its surroundings. Healing Stay Kosmos (2017), located on the coast of Ulleungdo Island, was built by pouring ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) on-site, and the artist expressed the spiral design concept and how the material completely melts into the landscape. It reminds us that architectural photography, starting with the request of the architect, is not simply a record of the photographer’s personal archives, but also images that contain the thoughts and epoch of the architect under scrutiny. by Kim Jia
Biotopia Stone Museum (2005) ⓒKim Yongkwan