June 2021
Water Cube for Clean Air & Healthy Life
‘Water Cube for Clean Air & Healthy Life’ is part of The Beautiful Future 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: WATER CUBE FOR CLEAN AIR & HEALTHY LIFE 水立方，清新空气美好生活
Artist: Nicholas Bonner/Dominic Johnson Hill with DPRK artist
Year: September 2008
Medium: Gouache on paper
Dimensions: 73.5 x 103 cm
Water Cube for Clean Air & Healthy Life
Originally built for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, the Water Cube was the main venue for swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, and water polo.
The North Korean artist worked on this painting from images we found online as the stadium was not yet completed. The exterior space is a bizarre extension of the Water Cube. The cube’s function was for elite swimmers. Whereas the exterior space centers around a group of old Beijing folk who are spending their recreation amongst frozen blocks of ice.
It is based on a group of retired swimmers who in the depths of winter swim in the frozen Houhai lake in Beijing for health benefits. The artist introduces a surreal lightness with the man sitting on an ice block smoking cigarette.
The costumes are very North Korean, and something you might find at Munsu Waterpark in Pyongyang. For ladies, it should be a full costume. Or at least certainly no bikini.
Development of the artwork
