Kyu Sang Lee

Opus no. 8
2024
Wooden frame, paint, resin, archival photograph.
100 x 80cm

In Opus Series, the artist employs a wooden frame not merely as a structural component but as an integral element of the compositional schema, thus unifying the artwork into a singular entity. The application of black paint, subsequently overlaid with resin, imparts a surface reminiscent of a grand piano, thereby imbuing the work with a tactile, reflective quality. This method of presentation serves not only to display photographs but also to merge them seamlessly with the wooden substrate, thereby eradicating the conventional boundary between frame and content. This fusion facilitates a dialogue among the photographs, drawings, and paintings, all of which are manifest upon the wooden template.

The manipulation of photographic elements through the addition of paint and computer-generated imagery serves to critique and reinterpret the traditional role of photography. By altering the original images, the artist challenges the static nature of photographic memory, suggesting its susceptibility to distortion and the fallibility of human recollection. This approach does not seek to castigate human error but rather to celebrate its inherent unpredictability and the beauty found within these imperfections.

The incorporation of paint marks introduces a temporal immediacy to the work, bridging the chronological divide between the artwork and its audience, and questioning the foundational purpose of photography as a means of documentation. This interplay between mediums situates the work within a liminal space that straddles the domains of painting and photography, thereby complicating the viewer's perception of each.

Central to the artist's inquiry is the essence of realism, explored not through the lens of meticulous representation or plausible narratives but as an experiential phenomenon that transcends the confines of the artwork itself. The incorporation of paint marks introduces a temporal immediacy, bridging the chronological divide between the artwork and its audience, and questioning the foundational purpose of photography as a documentary medium. This philosophical stance, coupled with the challenge to traditional roles of photography through alteration of images, advocates for a complexity in art that defies simplistic interpretation and categorisation, thereby positioning the amalgamation of mediums and materials as a fundamental inquiry into the nature of art itself, rather than merely a methodological choice.