▲ Bangudae(반구대), Photography, 2019 ⓒ Woon-gu Kang, Museum Hanmi

Photographer in South Korea, Woon-gu Kang's solo exhibition, 'Petroglyph or Photograph' is held in Seoul.

Kang is a pioneer in Korean documentary photography and a representative of Korean modernist photography culture. In his work, he has captured how people live and the environment of people in the same era and region.

In the exhibition, the artist featured various countries from Korea to Central Asia, Russia, China, and Mongolia. 

▲ The installation views ⓒ Museum Hanmi

About 50 years ago, he saw a petroglyph of Ulsan Bangudae in a newspaper and wondered, 'Why are whales standing vertically?'. Later, Kang decided to find the answer to this question himself.

Kang photographed petroglyphs after touring about 30 places in four Central Asian countries, including Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, which span several plateaus and mountain ranges, and eight countries, including Russia, Mongolia, and China.

▲ Sarmishai, Uzbekistan, Photography, 2018 ⓒ Woon-gu Kang, Museum Hanmi

In the exhibition, the audience can enjoy both color photographs that illuminate the lives of modern people and black and white photographs of ancient people when they were painting petroglyphs.

The artist explains the significance of the exhibition facing modern technology from the petroglyph painted more than 5,000 years ago, saying, "The petroglyph is an ancient photograph."

The exhibition will be held until March 17 next year at Museum Hanmi in Samcheong-dong, Seoul.

▲ The poster of the exhibition ⓒ Museum Hanmi

Sayart / Nao Yim, yimnao@naver.com