North Korean art, linocuts by Hwang In Jae
In March 2011 Nicholas Bonner commissioned and curated a body of work from DPRK’s (North Korea’s) most prestigious art institution. The subject matter was to study ship construction and its associated industry – ‘Ship Building’ linocut series, a North Korean art.
In April and May 2011, seven artists went to the east coast port of Wonsan for eight days, three of the artists then visited the nearby west sea port of Nampo for five days. They stayed in small local hotels on the sea front, following the ship builders and the life of the port, sketching and photographing during the day and eating fresh fish, drinking soju (rice wine) in the evening. Unfortunately, the project was suddenly cancelled by the art studio and the reasons were never made clear. The only pieces we received were the works by Hwang In Jae, one of the most famous printmakers in North Korea and a People’s Artist.
