Exclusive Interview with KIM WOO YOUNG

Nikey Cheng /

JUNE 2019 Home Journal Magazine

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[In Conversation with....] He was suspended from school due to active participation in student rallies and demonstrations. He was a DJ, a restaurant owner, and secretary for a congressman. He is Kim Woo Young, an artist photographer from Korea. Could you tell us a bit about your personal life/background? I was born and raised in Busan, a port city in South Korea. At that time, Busan was very underdeveloped. I still have a strong recollection of the sights, sounds and smell of being by the seaside. There is always a strong feeling of nostalgia when I think of Busan. While very young, my first trip away from home was to nearby island called Jeju. As soon as I arrived, I felt totally liberated by the notion of travelling and being in solitude. This wandering, “vagabond” type of life continued with me when I moved to Seoul (for high school). While in Seoul, I remember endless days watching the sunset from the Han Bridge by myself and feeling completely free. That probably explains my persona today -- as someone who prefers to be in solitude. I do enjoy socializing at times, but most of the times I do need to escape. What was your exposure to photography before you became a photographer? What was the moment when you knew this is the way for you to go? Many factors and personal experiences led me to choose photography as my language of expression and art-form. After moving to Seoul, I was suddenly exposed to a rapidly industrializing city going through so many changes on all fronts – politically, culturally, societal, etc. and that had a big impact on me. When I was not roaming around the city observing all these changes, I was actively participating in student rallies and demonstrations. As a result of this, I was suspended from school. During this time, I had to look for jobs so I found work in various fields – such as a DJ, restaurant-owner and even secretary for an assembly/congress man – all of which only confirmed the fact that I needed to find my own language and calling in life. When I got into university, I decided to choose urban design as my major and photography was one the required skills in my classes. So, I spent a lot of time recording urban landscape in Seoul in the midst of its industrialization and took many photos while learning more about photography. At the same time, I was also drawn to fellow students and experts in the movie and music industry so I had the chance to meet artists across these different fields. After going through all these experiences, I came to conclusion that what I wanted was to find my own artistic language. I was (and still) am passionate about music, movies and art --- but I realized that photography as an art form is a language which I can do independently without having to rely on others to produce a piece of work. And it is a type of art which is produced between myself and a camera. Tell us a bit more about your Solo Exhibition at Hong Kong Soluna Fine Arts in September? For this solo exhibition in September, I will be showing my new works which were taken in the US and Korea – the overall arching theme is based on urban landscape. The images taken in the US are of empty streets and deserted buildings while the works taken in Korea are of a traditional wooden “hanok” house interpreted in an abstract photo calligraphic style. Who are your influences? When I moved to New York City to start my new experimental journey, my photographic works was quite detail-oriented and avant-garde until I met Edward Ruscha. He has been influential to me in expanding my perspective even until now. Edward Hopper and David Hockney have also inspired and influenced me as an artist. Do you find yourself enjoy photographing architecture than people? How much do you research your subjects before photographing them? What kinds of techniques do you usually use for your photography? I have always been drawn to architecture, streetscapes and landscapes. The research part is the most consuming. I keep a record of all the locations and revisit the place at least 3 times before I start shooting. There is actually nothing really complicated in terms of photography techniques itself. I prefer to use standard lens without any extra specifications as it captures the reality which is seen with the human eyes. Then I wait to find the right timing that reveals the most genuine form and color of the subject. The most important factor is the proper light which I can control or manipulate simply by the time of day that I take the photos. How would you describe your own works? I’d like to think of my works as not so much an experiment attaching a concrete message but rather an attempt to show the possibilities for a new interpretation of a city or nature scene by providing a direct visual experience. The camera simply acts as a tool to capture a place of meaning. It is the story behind what seemingly is an urban scene – a building, house, street what I am attracted to. Normally, what I shoot is a place or structure which is silently abandoned without any connection to the world outside and the issue or dilemma that comes up in my mind is how this place or building was created and then consequently destroyed by human beings. And where is our future headed based on this? What messages do you aim to convey through your works? (e.g. why would you find dilapidated and abandoned settings particularly enchanting? The transformation of urban-scape and natural landscape in recent years?) As I briefly touched on above, I hope that my work can make people start to think about what they have left behind and what they have missed while obsessively trying to move forward for the sake of modernization and development. Although the object or scene is dilapidated, I want to capture it in its most vivid and splendid moment. I want to highlight the moments of its past glory and at the same time show the degeneration of the present. Can you talk about your recent/current works? Since 2007, I have gone on countless road-trips across the US continent. However, these days, I keep remembering South Korea in the 1980’s as it went through its industrialization and the displacement of people as a result. From what I have seen recently, there are still many places in Asia which are going through a similar situation. I have started to travel more frequently within Asia—such as China, Tibet over the past 4 – 5 years. From the overview of my works, the underlying theme and insights have always been about the connection from urban to nature. So, recently, I have been putting more thoughts and time towards nature as a subject and coming up with ways to show how city and nature are linked. Specifically, I am working on a series of ‘water landscape’ images. What do you think of the photography scene in Asia? What’s your view on its present and future development? Do you think photography is a form of art? The way photography is taught in Asia and the West is totally different. The Western approach of photography (as an art form) is that it’s an artistic language which can and should be developed from within the heart and mind. In Korea, they focus heavily on teaching photography from the camera’s perspective-- techniques, and history, etc. It is important to learn these basics but what is invaluable is how to teach someone to develop their own philosophy -- not just about what is in front of the lens but more importantly, what is the meaning from capturing the image (behind the lens.) Also, to me, the idea of contemporary photography as an art form means to have photography come from the effort of oneself, not derived from someone or something else. ​ - ​ View Original Article >