SAMUSO

2 Oct – 11 Nov 2007

'Noguchi Rika explores the essential qualities of life by re-examining through the camera lens the various aspects of reality that we casually overlook. Noguchi has been taking photographs seriously since she was about twenty years old, “to have exchanges with more diverse groups of people.” Her photography captures everyday details or events she has observed. Her photos include oceans, the sun, and birds without any manipulation. She waits quietly for her work to show more emerge, revealing her calm lyricism and perspective on the world. The current exhibit showcases Noguchi's aesthetic suggestions that include imaginary elements and her recent journey; it fully conveys the artistic world of Noguchi Rika, who has built a unique position in the art world by transforming objective facts into imaginary and seemingly non-realistic scenes. The Sun (2005-2006) is a series that uses a pinhole camera to photograph the sun, creating a sense of space that is different from reality and that exaggerates the effects of light. The light that shines on both green and urban landscapes at times appears as if it is a silver or gold aura irregular in form; at other times the light explodes sharply and renders the surrounding environment completely dark. In a single picture, Noguchi shows both light and darkness simultaneously and suggests a condition that is cognitively but not materially perceptible in real life. The work in a corner of the exhibit space is White Paper (2005), which is about the color white. By offset printing the photograph of a snowy landscape on a white piece of paper, the whiteness stood out to be whiter than the original white paper. The work is displayed with a spotlight. Color of the Planet (2004) is a series that explores the traces of an ancient city sunken under water. It draws viewers to the strange but beautiful world of the deep sea. For this work Noguchi took diving lessons. By learning to scuba dive, Noguchi gained a way of reaching the domain that seemed very far away and difficult to attain. In her work, the traces of an ancient city leave an eerie sense of epic, which is then colored with the delicate and subtle blue and green of the sea water. Thus in these photographs we see images of an underwater world that has transcended time and space I Dreamt of Flying (2003) is a series that explores the artist's curiosity about outer space, another transcendent space that cannot be reached by many. The artist had said that she realized the physical distance between herself and far reaches of the universe, ironically, through a model rocket that overcomes gravity and explores new spaces. The work features the launching of paper rockets that Noguchi made herself. It also shows the launching of the life size H-2A space rocket, which also appears in the artist's H-2A . F4 (2002) series. From the rockets that are launched from the Tanegashima Space Center, which is located at the southern tip of Kyushu island of Japan and considered the world's most beautiful rocket launching facility, one observes the contrast between the vertical exhaust of the rocket soaring into the sky, and the horizon. Thus, exploring places that are hard to reach, such as the ancient city now under water, and outer space, the artist exposes and re-examines actually existing unknown spaces with the spirit of an explorer. Noguchi Rika takes familiar subjects from everyday life, such as the sun, light, the color white, and the sky, as the subjects of her photography; on the other hand she takes a fresh perspective on what we might pass over as unreal, such as the ancient ruins of a city under water. By doing so, she freely jumps the gap between the real and unreal. What she tried to do through her work is bring to light the wonder within the ordinary. By noticing and being interested in what's taken for granted, in an area that's right in front of your eyes and is so accessible but where many wouldn't think about going, we thus come to rediscover our wonderful surroundings.' show less

Living and working in London and Seoul, Meekyoung Shin uses soap as her main material to attempt unique reinterpretation. In her work, Shin represents as specific images of ceramics and Buddhas her "translation" of various religious, historical, and cultural problems that she experiences as an Asian artist in the 21st century. And her reinterpretation gets agin "translated" by viewers in their distinct conditions and situations through the religious, historical, and cultural contexts in show more which they exist. With the everyday material of soap, Shin's work deals with penetration between civilizations, transference, question of originality, copy, and replication.

(Abstract from SAMUSO) show less

"Counter Skin at 38º in South Korea" is a photographic workshop that engaged audience participants to take part in uncouvering a historical and spatial specificity amidst a universal backdrop. Held at "Imjingak" and the "Taepund Observatory" near the SMZ, the workshop had volunteers paint a number of their choice on various parts of their bodies, after which Miyajima would take pictures of the participants posing against a natural setting, marking a stark contrast to the manmade barbed wire show more demarcation lines.

(Abstract from SAMUSO) show less