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. Shown at Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne and featured in Wired magazine.
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, Melbourne.
“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
Linocut on high gloss paper
Size: 40 x 99 cm
Price: 1900 EUR
ID: L029
Edition of 15
Animals
Year: 2015
Kim Kwang Nam
Linocut on high gloss paper
Size: 40 x 99 cm
Price: 1900 EUR
ID:L027
Edition of 15
Animals and Plants
Year: 2015
Kim Kwang Nam
Linocut on high gloss paper
Size: 40 x 99 cm
Price: 1900 EUR
ID:L024
Edition of 15
Reflection of Rocket
Year: 2015
Kim Kwang Nam
Linocut on high gloss paper
Size: 60 x 69.5 cm
Price: 1900 EUR
ID:L019
Edition of 15
Undersea World
Year: 2015
Kim Kwang Nam
Linocut on high gloss paper
Size: 59.5 x 70 cm
Price: 1900 EUR
ID:L016
Edition of 15
Underwater Research
Year: 2015
Kim Kwang Nam
Linocut on high gloss paper
Size: 99 x 40 cm
Price: 1900 EUR
ID:L023
Edition of 15
Inside the Submarine
Year: 2015
Kim Kwang Nam
Linocut on high gloss paper
Size: 29.5 x 99 cm
Price: 1900 EUR
ID:L028
Edition of 15
Filtration Under the Sea
Year: 2015
Kim Kwang Nam
Linocut on high gloss paper
Size: 40 x 99 cm
Price: 1900 EUR
ID:L025
Edition of 15
Rocket Fired Towards Planet
Year: 2015
Kim Kwang Nam
Linocut on high gloss paper
Size: 40 x 99 cm
Price: 1900 EUR
ID:L028
Edition of 15
Planet Survey
Year: 2015
Kim Kwang Nam
Linocut on high gloss paper
Size: 40 x 99 cm
Price: 1900 EUR
ID:L026
Edition of 15
Spaceman Reflected in Helmet
Year: 2015
Kim Kwang Nam
Linocut on high gloss paper
Size: 40 x 99 cm
Price: 1900 EUR
ID:L030
Edition of 15
Local Space Transport
Year: 2015
Kim Kwang Nam
Linocut on high gloss paper
Size: 42 x 59 cm
Price: 1600 EUR
ID:L015
Edition of 15
Satellite Maintenance
Year: 2015
Kim Kwang Nam
Linocut on high gloss paper
Size: 42 x 59 cm
Price: 1600 EUR
ID:L020
Edition of 15
Deep Space Mining
Year: 2015
Kim Kwang Nam
Linocut on high gloss paper
Size: 42 x 59 cm
Price: 1600 EUR
ID:L022
Edition of 15
World Rescue Team
Year: 2015
Kim Kwang Nam
Linocut on high gloss paper
Size: 42 x 59 cm
Price: 1600 EUR
ID:L021
Edition of 15
Running Low on Oxygen
Year: 2015
Kim Kwang Nam
Linocut on high gloss paper
Size: 42 x 59 cm
Price: 1600 EUR
ID:L018
Edition of 15
Conservation of the Sea
Year: 2015
Kim Kwang Nam
Linocut on high gloss paper
Size: 42 x 59 cm
Price: 1600 EUR
ID:L017
Edition of 15
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.
