Seung-Hwan Oh works and lives in Seoul, where he was born and raised until moving to New York where he studied film and photography at Hunter College. His work and practice stem from his interest and approach toward other disciplinary thoughts and ideas, from philosophy to sciences.
His “Impermanence” series is inspired by the second law of thermodynamics: the idea that all matter including all the life forms collapse in our spatial-temporal dimension we belong to. It marks an exploration into the physical limits of both organic matter and of photography itself.
Oh’s photographic portraits are distorted by their meeting with bacteria so that the material worlds of the photographs are eroded. He bathes his film in water and homegrown bacteria for months, sometimes even years, blending the organic and the artificial, until appreciable damage has taken place.
The resultant images – distorted, discoloured and sometimes unnerving – are a testament to the power of decay. This process creates a tension between what is still visible and what is lost.
Seung-Hwan Oh’s work has been exhibited on three continents and he has had a number of shows in South Korea and Europe, including at the French Cultural Centre in Fukoka, Japan and the Zahah Museum in Seoul.
Images courtesy of Seung-Hwan Oh
Discover: www.seunghwan-oh.com | galleryelenashchukina.com
