Venue: Art Sonje Center

The second Art sonje project of this year is “Great Daddy” by artists Sang Bin Kang and Sang Woo Kang. The Great Daddy is a homage to Hee Sung Kang along with his vast book collection, the former representative of ‘Dong-A Seowon’ publishing company and father of the two artist brothers. This exhibition provides the observers with an opportunity to have deep encounters with a family’s history in a more public aspect through ‘Retention and Disappearance’ of the books that have been accompanied with them forever long.

Certain experiences and processes are an important factor for one’s perception. To some a book is only a readable material, however to Sang Bin and Sang Woo Kang it was first recognized as an object with a ‘decorative’ character that could be piled up, laid down, and rested on. In this Great Daddy, a large number of books are newly placed and piled up in the exhibition place according to their characteristics and roles, shaping an unique environment. During the exhibition period, viewers can choose and take a limited number of books for free, which results in a natural change in the installation environment surrounding the artwork. The Great Daddy’s Bookshelf is a collection of photographs taken when a visitor takes a book, which acts as a ghost of the taken book and will be located on the wall.

This exhibition is a story about books as a father’s material heritage, his personal narration of ‘production and conservation’, and also the notions of the personal and social role of a book’s ‘distribution and reproduction’ through two brothers who perform visual arts. The spectators and contemporary art, artists and their father all relate and reconnect to each other through this project and produce various visual expressions from it.

+http://artsonje.org/en/ksbksw/#