Born in Incheon, South Korea in 1979, Oh Sukkuhn graduated from Nottingham Trent University School of Art & Design with Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in photography. The series of works are derived from the boy named “Chulsoo” and the girl named “Younghee” who first made their appearance in the Korean textbook during the era of Park Chung Hee administration and kept their presence through the mid-1990'.
The above mentioned two Korean characters can be described as “Taro” and “Hanako” in Japan. Majority of Korean people have been familiar with “Chulsoo” and “Younghee” not only as the iconized figures of common images but as the easily recognized characters in the textbook which somewhat plays the role of the bible for children. “ The Text Book (Chulsoo and Younghee)” is the new approach by Oh Sukkuhn, who in fact reused the form of the textbook and the iconized figures in his works. Each work settles on the subject matter taken from the specific scene that is still present to the mind in the memories of his acquaintances. Although each scene is based on the individual recollection of others, it summons up our memories of the past. In addition, it can run on the memories that cover the entire nation in some instances. Furthermore, his works seem to ironically reveal the obscuration and falsehood of one-time textbooks as shades of bible.
It is likely that such icons in the textbook seem to have played hosts of functions in Korea who have faced various issues such as colonial rule, Korean War, North-South issue and despotic regime. By making “Chulsoo” and “Younghee” visible once again in his works, Oh Sukkuhn might be questioning us what the individual memory actually is or whether the memory not only stays in each of us but also prevail beyond in the nation perhaps. Works of insightful question and skepsis from the viewpoint of present-day Korean artist give us the moment to think over the derivation of our memories.
Well received at the exhibition “OTONARISAN -The Stranger Next Door” organized by AQA project Kyushu University students held from late 2010 through the beginning of 2011 in Fukuoka, this is the first solo exhibition of Oh Sukkuhn in Tokyo.
Oh Sukkuhn 1979 Born in Incheon, South Korea 2003-05 Nottingham Trent University School of Art & Design, BA (Hons) Photography Lives and works in Incheon
Selected Solo Exhibitions 2005 Bare Exposure (Noster Nostri), Wallner Gallery, Lakeside Art Centre, Nottingham 2007 Bare Exposure (Noster Nostri), Gallery ON, Seoul 2008 The Text Book (Chulsoo & Younghee), Art Space Hue, Seoul 2010 The Text Book (Chulsoo & Younghee), Blue Sky Gallery, Portland The Text Book (Chulsoo & Younghee), Centro Cultural Recoleta 16th Encuentros Abiertos : Festival De La Luz, Buenos Aires 2011 The Text Book (Chulsoo & Younghee), Base Gallery, Tokyo
Selected Group Exhibitions 2005 Identify, 1851 Gallery, Nottingham 2007 Stationary and Flowing, Gallery on, Seoul Stationary and Flowing, Remin University of China, Xu Beihong School of Fine Arts, Beijing Seeing and Imagining Exhibition, Donggang Photography Festival, Youngwall Photography Museum, Youngwall Kinora Experimental Film Opera, Post Theater, Seoul 2008 NG Art Fair(New Generation Art Fair), Art Space Hue, Seoul Korean Young Artists 2008:I am an Artist, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Gwacheon The Battle of Taste, Gallery Sangsangmadang, Seoul Discoveries Exhibition of Fotofest, Fotofest Biennial, Houston 2009 Chaotic Harmony, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston Showcase Reboot Vol.6, Platoon Kunsthalle, Seoul Cinema Exhibition, Samsung Theater, Busan City-Ray, Space Beam, Incheon The Photograph as Contemporary Art, Doosan Art Center, Seoul Ilmin Visual Culture 4 : Image of Youth, Ilmin Museum, Seoul Urban & Culture, Jeonju-Photofestival, Jeollabuk-do Art Center, Jeonju Identity, Costume, Cliche: Korean Photography Today, PCNW, Seattle Young Portfolio 2008, Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Art, Kiyosato Mexico Photo Biennial, Centro De la Imagen, Mexico City Photo LA Fair, Santa Monica 2010 ATU(Alternative, Translate, Universe), Cinema Sangsangmadang, Seoul Otonarisan:The Stranger Next Door, Gallery Artlier & Kyushu Univ. Museum Annex No.1, Fukuoka Bibliotheque, Sangsangmadang Gallery, Seoul Chaotic Harmony, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara Ilmin Visual Culture 5 : Ideal Beauty and Images, Ilmin Museum, Seoul A4 Demo : Art For Democracy, 14 Spaces of 13 Cities, Korea Double Interview : Other Things Being Equal, Art Space Hue & I-MYU Projects, Seoul & London Mind Games, Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney Waseda Photojournalism Festival, 125 Memorial Gallery of Waseda Univ.&Visual Arts Gallery, Tokyo 2011 Sea of Peace, Incheon Art Platform, Incheon Lab Dot line TV Preview, Lab Dot line TV, Seoul Time Without Borders, Art Space Hue, Paju Incheon Landing Operation, Incheon Art Platform, Incheon
Collection The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara Portland Museum of Art, Portland Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Art, Kiyosato Ilmin Museum, Seoul
Honor Discoveries of Fotofest 2006, Nominated by Anne Tucker Young Portfolio 2008 of Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Art Supported by The Korean Culture and Arts Foundation 2006 Supported by Seoul Foundation and Arts and Culture 2010
Residency Incheon Art Platform 2011
* The text provided by BASE GALLERY.
Period: Wednesday, September 21 - Saturday, October 22, 2011 Venue: BASE GALLERY Opening reception: Wednesday, September 21, 2011, 18:00 -
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