GoEun Museum of Photography Annual Project Busan Observation Shoreline, the Ocean of Breath KwangHo Choi March 1, 2014 – April 30, 2014
¨Ï KwangHo Choi, Yeongdo Bongnaesan, Digital C-Print, 50x76cm, 2013
KwangHo Choi, a passionate photographer who dedicates all he has to his photography is the next artist to be presented by Goeun Museum of Photography’s Annual Project <Busan Observation>2014. <Busan Observation> is a decade long project, assigning an experienced and talented photographer every year to document the history and local colors of Busan in his or her own unique views which are exhibited at the Museum once completed. Followed by HongGoo Kang from last year, the project’s second artist KwangHo Choi has consistently worked on the oceans and shorelines of Busan starting from 2013. From Gijang and Wolnae in the north east to Gadeok-do in the south west, he has ceaselessly walked to capture Busan, which came down to an image of borders: The border where ocean and land meet, the border where nature and history meet, and the border where the stranger KwangHo Choi and Busan meet. <Shoreline, the Ocean of Breath> by Choi has fully encompassed the process of such borders bombarding and blending in.
Often in the case of projects, an artist would focus more on setting the concept of the work. Stating a lucid concept based on the intent would yield text with depth. However, Choi on the other hand vividly captures every animating moment of the scene alive through his intuition. To him, photography is life. In other words, Busan is not a target of objectification but life itself that is encountered through photography in the fierceness of life. That is why his photographs from Busan created by his sharp instincts and observation are meaningful. He certainly displays what it is to live, or rather what it is to survive through photographs of his life and his work.
Yet it does not mean he takes photographs without any standards or basic settings. His shoreline project dates back to 1996 when he explored the history and reality of Korea through photography while walking the shorelines with the students from Dongshin University, starting from the eastern north borderline that extended to the south and west coast. Those early shoreline projects through which he recognized the place he stood and imagined what’s beyond has evolved into photographs taken like breathing, as he threw himself to the unfamiliar city of Busan. His work has visualized the everyday life and the inner parts of Busan with careful observation and they are fervent, emotional and full of energy. He does not try to describe Busan beautifully, recreate it in any fantastical way or show it objectively. He unveils the landscape that is very much subjective yet so Busan like the unique way that he lives in photography.
KwangHo Choi fuses various approaches and formats for creative photography. To highlight this style of his own, <Shoreline, the Ocean of Breath> is composed of three sections. The first is a photogram of KwangHo Type that shows the “Origin” that combines Choi’s photographic deed with shamanism of Busan oceans. “Origin” focuses on the grass-root features of Busan and its people. The second section is “History” that’s composed of images he took on a national holiday. This section shows the contemporary history of Busan that has gone through the 16th century Japanese invasion, opening up of the ports in modern days, and the Korean War in prints. The third part is “Identity” where photographer KwangHo Choi and the people of Busan meet each other through the ocean and shorelines of Busan. The works on display include photograms that photographically express the materialism of Busan ocean, self-portraits of Choi, people of Busan gazing at their reflection in the mirror and drawings on a Busan map. Choi rediscovers Busan with sensuous mapping using his own body.
KwangHo Choi often states that “Photography is a language remembered by the body” and such style is concentrated in this exhibition. It is also a process of recognizing others and reflection of one’s own life proceeding to a photographic deed. In that sense, photogram is more than a simple format to Choi. It shows how his body becomes one with the camera to unite with the foreign location named Busan instead of taking the photographs at a distance as an observer. In the exhibition we will encounter the strong life and energy unique to Busan through the extraordinary moments created by planning and by chances. Then Choi’s sincere affection on Busan will be confirmed once again.
Busan is a city that has faced the dynamic era of Korea squarely. It is also the first place to adopt photography and is a gateway open to the world where diverse cultures mingle in energy. Through Goeun Museum of Photography’s Annual Project <Busan Observation>, multiple faces of Busan will be discovered by skilled photographers of Korea which will be more than simple documentation. They will become the jewels of Korean photography while contributing to expansion of historical and cultural spectrums in the area.
About Artist
Choi, Kwang Ho
1956
Born in Gangneung, Korea
Education
1992
M.F.A. in Fine Art, Graduate School of New York University, New York, USA
1989
M.F.A. in Documentary, Graduate School at Osaka University of Art, Osaka, Japan
1987
B.F.A. in Photography, Osaka University of Arts, Osaka, Japan
1976
Photo Printing Department, Shingu University, Korea
Solo Exhibition
2013
Time from life (Dong-Gang Museum of Photography, Yeongwol)
2013
Relationship with Im, Dong-chang (Gallery Dasuri, Pyeingchang)
2012
Clean to Mind (Gallery Dasuri, Pyeingchang)
Time from the Soil 2012 (Ryugaheon Gallery, Seoul)
2011
Time from the Soil 2011 (Gallery Dasuri, Pyeingchang)
Indramang (Gallery Dasuri, Pyeingchang)
Accompanying - Pyeingchang (Gallery Dasuri, Pyeingchang)
2010
Photogram - Mind (Insa Art Center, Seoul)
Photographic Meditation (Goeun Contemporary Photo Museum, Busan)
2009
The Landscape of Breathing (Gallery Now, Seoul)
2008
Circle of Life (Insa Art Center, Seoul)
Family - Choi, Kwang-ho (Noam Gallery, Seoul)
2007
Vines (Gallery Godo, Seoul)
The breath of the earth (Artbit Gallery, Seoul)
Photogram - Gift (Insa art Center, Seoul)
2006
An Echo of the Earth_Breathing, Sounds of Life , Step Sound (Gallery Dam, Seoul)
2005
Humble but Noble (Sejong Center, Seoul)
2004
Korean Residents in Japan (Gallery of Chung - Ang University, Ansung)
2003
An Expression of the Earth (Gallery Photo Class, Daejeon)
A Fairy Tale of a Hole (Gallery Biim, Seoul)
2001~04
Serial Exhibition_Choi, Kwang-ho 1-30 (Gallery1019, Seoul)
Group Exhibitions
2013
The Origin (Goeun Museum of Photography, Busan)
2012
Paradise Lost (Goeun Museum of Photography, Busan)
2011
2011 Seoul Photo Festival-Time from the Soil (Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul)
2010
Manreyi and His Friends (Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul)
Maninbo Ten Thousand Lives (Gwangju Biennale 2010, Gwangju)
2009
2009 Odyssey - Ten contemporary Korean Photographers (Seoul Arts Center, Seoul)
2008
Sixty Years of Contemporary Korean Photographs (National Museum of Contemporary Art, Gwacheon)
Daegu Photo Biennale - From the Roots to the Being Now (Soheon Gallery, Daegu)
2007
The Dilemma of Traditional and Advanced Inquire. (The Museum of Photography, Seoul)
Alumnus of New York University of Art (International Center of Photography, New York, USA)
2006
Seoul Remains (SUN Gallery, Seoul)
2004
Alumnus of Osaka University of Art (Council of Japen in Korea, Seoul)
Looking Inside (Baeksang Art Museum, Seoul)
Prospects of Korean Contemporary Photographers (Dong-Gang Museum of Photography,
Yeongwol)
2002
Seoul International Print-Photo and Edition Works Art Fair (Seoul Arts Center, Seoul)
Korea Contemporary Art Festival-Solo Exhibition of Sixty Six Leading Korean Artists (Seoul Arts Center, Seoul)
Human, Wind (Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, Japan)
2001
Family (Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul)
Collection
2011
Violet Gallary (Busan)
2006
National Museum of Contemporary Art (Gwacheon)
2005
Seoul Museum of Art (Seoul)
2002
Dong-Gang Museum of Photography (Yeongwol)
1994
National Museum of Contemporary Art (Gwacheon)
Exhibition Works
All Copyright is Reserved.
¨Ï KwangHo Choi, Gadeokdo, Digital C-Print, 50x76cm, 2013