June 2021
Birds Nest, Home of the People
The Beautiful Future is a unique collaboration between Nick Bonner of Koryo Studio, Dominic Johnson-Hill of Plastered 8, and a group of North Korean artists living in North Korea’s capital Pyongyang.
Title: BIRDS NEST, HOME OF THE PEOPLE 鸟巢，劳动人民体育馆
Artist: Nicholas Bonner/Dominic Johnson Hill with DPRK artist
Year: September 2008
Medium: Gouache on paper
Dimensions: 73.5 x 103 cm
Beautiful Future: Birds Nest, Home of the People
A striking surreal horizontally banded skyline flanked by a shining city and industry at maximum capacity. Streams of flag waving Chinese very reminiscent of North Korean ‘People’s Parades’.
The floral decoration in the foreground is used to frame the piece and set up the perspective- a technique used in their graphic imagery (example below).
A touch of Korean Confucianism with the focus on the young girl looking after the old man, a tourist in his own country witnessing the great changes, not the leap forward of his youth.
Development of the artwork
