Photo London 2017 Public Programme Pavilion Commission: Bae Bien-u & Noh Suntag

As part of the Korea/UK season, Photo London 2017 is building on the success of its 2016 Pavilion Commission by Wolfgang Tillmans with Dual Reality, a project featuring work by Korean photographers Bae Bien-U (b. 1950) and Noh Suntag (b. 1971), curated by Jiyoon Lee, director at SUUM Project, in partnership with KCCUK. Dual Reality covers two 45-metre-long murals of the main pavilion in the courtyard of Somerset House with versions of iconic series by both artists. The project features a new site-specific version of work in Bae Bien-U’s SONAMU (Pine Tree) series, and imagery from Noh Suntag’s acclaimed Red House series.

Bae Bien-U, has worked with subjects related to nature for more than 30 years, captures the spiritual qualities of the natural world in photographs that resemble the traditional Korean technique of ink wash painting. In creating his SONAMU series, Bae was inspired by pine trees, which are common in Korean landscapes, and are regarded as important symbols of the sanctity of trees throughout Korean history and culture.

Noh Suntag’s work deals with conflicts in Korean society by way of general issues and aesthetics, rather than through confrontational ideas. Noh’s work addresses the distorting effect that the division between North and South Korea has on social and individual life in both countries.
The artist visited North Korea as a photojournalist and witnessed the Arirang Festival, which features mass group exercises and card section displays. These events are depicted in his Red House series as a demonstration of unity, which also appears to deny individuality. For Dual Reality, depictions of South Korean life feature alongside these North Korean scenes for viewers to compare and contrast.