International Discoveries
A lens to the world: Artist Kyu-Ho Kim gives an exclusive preview of FotoFest’snew exhibit
In its final exhibition before its upcoming March biennial, FotoFest launches the third installment of the International Discoveries series — a showcase of 12 emerging artists culled from recent photography events around the world.
For the Thursday opening night event, FotoFest invited eight of the exhibiting artists to discuss their work and share their thoughts on contemporary art photography. Recently arrived from Seoul, Korean photographer Kyu-Ho Kim gave CultureMap an exclusive tour of his work on the second floor of FotoFest’s Vine Street headquarters.
“I grew up in the Seoul neighborhood of Bukgajwa-dong, where my family’s lived for decades,” Kim said with the help of a translator.
“Recently, the city began tearing down older buildings in the area, replacing the small concrete village with a planned community called New Town. I decided to visit the area.”
On the gallery walls, a series of images captured crumbling walls, rusted rebar and murky brown puddles, the visual markers of what is left of Kim’s boyhood neighborhood.
Without people, vegetation or sky, viewers get little sense of what they’re seeing until standing only feet away from the photographs. From a distance, the images read like abstract arrangements of simple shapes and lines, offering few clues of the demolished homes and businesses they record.
“I took pictures when the workers were away on the weekend,” Kim said, noting that the area was highly restricted during the demolition. “The site was dirty and dangerous, with a terrible odor.”
Much had changed in the neighborhood since he left nearly 30 years ago. New construction now crowds formerly open areas, while asphalt and cement cover any semblances of the once pastoral village.
“I left Bukgajwa-dong when I was five years old, so there was not much I recognized when I returned,” Kim said. “But when I found this flat patch of dirt, I suddenly remembered running around the grassy fields I loved as a child.
"The site became less intimidating to me at that moment. From there on, I was happy taking pictures of my old neighborhood.”
Kyu-Ho Kim, with seven additional participating artists, will be available for questions at the International Discoveries reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday. The artists will give additional talks at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Also on view at the Allen Center is FotoFest’s Houston 175: People, a joint-exhibit with the Houston Center for Photography that explores 175 years of Houston history through the eyes of 15 artists. Click here for details.