gwon osang

“A new method of playing with illusion and reality” – Gwon Osang

Gwon Osang has created his own form of art, and it’s amazing: the photographic sculpture. An unparalleled arist from Korea, Gwon is a graduate of Hongik University’s sculpture department. His artwork looks as if it might be ceramic statues, but when you get closer you see it’s made up entirely of photographs. Gwon takes hundreds of meticulous photographs of one model and then layers them over a mannequin. By strategically distorting what is real, he plays with the idea of truth.


In his “Deodorant Type” exhibition, Gwon featured 14 life-size sculptures using thousands of photographic images.













In his newest exhibition, “The Sculpture,” he creates a supercar out of bronze.







Gwon talks about ideas for his next work:

“The next concept I have in mind is art that can neither be owned nor collected. At the same time, I realize that even if I make such an endeavor, the galleries will probably find a way to turn them into a saleable item. A pertinent example would be the sand mandala drawn by Tibetan monks. 

Buddhist monks in their self-discipline spend weeks creating sand mandala after which they sweep it away into the river to signify that life is transient. However, if you visit Buddhist museums you'll find such mandalas glued to a canvas for display. So I'm guessing that my next work will probably be made into a form that can be owned. The Flat also embodies a similar concept, the transience of excess, if you can call it that. 

In The Sculpture I also painted things that are heavy to make them look lighter. To me, this society is futile and temporal. There are always two sides of the coin to everything, and everything is cyclical. My view of life is pretty much based on this belief.”

And his “rules for working”:

“The most important rule is to include various codes that can be interpreted in multiple ways. I don’t believe in having my messages delivered accurately. I’m just giving the audience a number of signs for them to find their way to the destination. This may seem callous but I think it is actually the nicest answer to the audience. 

After seeing a film, some moviegoers would often say the film was too difficult to understand. I think it is impossible to see a visual image and think of it as being too complex. All you have to do is just look at what is passing before your eyes. The audience has only to see it and interpret it based on their own life experiences. 

I think there is a range of communication that can be achieved through contemporary art. People at times daydream when they are really busy. I believe that communicating that daydream is a key function of contemporary art. I sometimes think to myself that an artist is somebody who sits at a quite cafe and enjoys himself in place of other people who are too busy to do so. In fact, I personally think that artists should have greater leisure to produce better work. When an artist is too preoccupied, the works will often suffocate.”

www.osang.net