The Future is Bright: North Korean linocut
The Future is Bright- seventeen linocuts depicting man’s exploration of the furthest reaches of our universe – outer space and the ocean floor
The works are a collaboration between two artists, Briton Nicholas Bonner and North Korean Kim Kwang Nam. Having grown up under the influence of the Cold War in Britain and North Korea respectively, the two men share a nostalgia for the imagery of their childhoods and the excitement and promise of an imagined future. The Future is Bright is the result of these shared memories.

ABOUT THE PROJECT
Nicholas Bonner has worked with several North Korean artists since first travelling to the DPRK in 1993. One of his most recent collaborations, Utopian Tours, led to a Golden Lion-winning exhibition at the Venice Biennale. In 2014, he was in North Korea discussing the art he grew up with as a child. A local artist, Kim Kwang Nam brought out a comic book, surprised that they shared, and had both been simulated by, similar imagery. As with many of the projects Bonner has worked on in North Korea, this series developed through the input of both parties, but using the highly developed skills of the North Korean artist to create the final pieces.

Curator Doug Hall has brought out a collection of rare works by a North Korean artist, Kim Kwang Nam to Anna Schwartz Gallery
“Imbedded within the visual narrative of ‘The Future is Bright’ is a reflection of a utopian vision of North Korea. It is a socialism shaped by the influence of Soviet idealism, where science, exploration and the vastness of its imaginative reach might become part of a proletarian dream. In the case of ‘The Future is Bright’ western audiences might read it as an irony about one of the least visited places on the planet. But in reality, it’s about the imagination of childhood realised again as an adult, an imagination born out of circumstances where the individual imagination usually remains unseen.”
Curator Doug Hall who co-curated the exhibition at the Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne

Artist:
Kim Kwang Nam
Born 24th Sep, 1953, he graduated from Pyongyang Art University in 1972, and has worked for the main art studio, Pyongyang, since 1993.
Selected Artworks
Space Scene
Year: 2015
Kim Kwang Nam
Giclée print on museum quality art paper
Size: 40 x 99 cm
Price: 190 EUR
ID: L029
Edition of 20
Shipping is charged at 80 EUR or artworks may be collected from our studio in Beijing. Art may be returned to our office within 10 days of receipt for full refund less bank charges.