Tag: conceptual

Gowun Lee // exploring social issues with a conceptual lens

Describing herself as a visual artist who uses photography as her chosen medium, Gowun Lee explores social issues in a conceptual manner. She received her BFA in Photography from the School of Visual Arts, and her work has been included in exhibitions around the world, the most recent being the 2018 Aperture Summer Open titled The Way We Live Now in New York.

Lee has moved from New York to South Korea for her ongoing project which brings light to the fact that the majority of LGBTQ people in South Korea have to hide their true identities, despite the increase in LGBTQ activism and awareness. This is represented visually in her series I’m Here With You, where the people photographed never face the camera directly. Instead their bodies are turned and their faces are hidden. “The LGBTQ individuals photographed – all facing away from the camera – remind us of how Korean society continues to neglect and refuse to accept them. “By creating these images, my intent is to both implicate the viewer in the nation’s larger refusal to acknowledge the identity of LGBTQ individuals and, more importantly, to spur us all to take action and change this attitude once and for all,” Lee says in an interview with the UK’s Daily Mail. This series is a powerful portrayal of lived experiences, and the way in which this affects people’s lives, with those photographed often alone within the frame. A creepy stillness becomes apparent with Lee’s compositional choices.

To check out more of work visit Lee’s website.

9 July 2018
¿¿¿ ¿¿¿¿¿ – a zen exercise // questions on transcendental experiences

An empty clinical space. Naked with years of raped neglect finds a new meaning. Inhabited by the sounds of abstract ambient looping that resembles industrial clanging and the movement of water. In the middle, stands a light source – a life source. The floor is strewn with white paper. From outside she appears to move into frame and allows her body to take the shape of the sound. A dance of moving trance is latched onto the odd looping soundtrack created by Francesco De Gallo.

‘¿¿¿ ¿¿¿¿¿’ is an experimental film by the autodidactic Detroit artist Katai featuring Nil Bambu that presents the natural flow of her body and form – “stillness in motion”. This piece that has been displayed at the New art fest in Lisbon, Portugal in 2017 deals with “the deepest depths of existence” I am told by its creator. Inspiring Nil’s mimetic movement – a balance is struck between western psychology and eastern spirituality. “To be fully aware is to be in a state of no thought or nothingness. In this realm, you can access existence and existence can access you, creating harmony and flow.”

“Nil is filled with the unknown, with the mysterious and with the divine. A hollow Bambu becomes a flute and the divine starts playing it. Once empty, there is no barrier for the divine to flow from you.”

Zen is an experience beyond mental existence reaching transcendentalism. Nil’s zen escapist act is recorded to create a work of art in which she displays no state of mind. It is out of body and is described as a “zen exercise”.

This repetitive loop of motion in a static framework is justified by saying that the work is not related to the circumference of understanding and is instead a study into movement and how sound reacts to it and the other way around – “it is all the same. This combination of audio and visual creates an unrepeated repetition.”

Katai’s practice examines the truth beyond human understanding through directing, creating and the producing of films. Exemplifying time as an illusion in order to facilitate the interrogation of how the world is perceived. “Each piece is a continuation of an endless unfoldment and reflection of the truth.”

Nil is a vocalist from Trinidad and Tobago carrying a message of love and balance between the spiritual and material realms. Her aspiration is for her voice and message to transcend the confinement of time and space.

Katai, Nil and musician Francesco from Montreal, Quebec have worked together on previous projects and fuse to create ‘¿¿¿ ¿¿¿¿¿ – a zen exercise’ a piece that makes you question a zen experience. Their trio then, attempt to create “an evolution of time delayed” or a zen moment.

Conceptually the experimental film piece by these three creatives has substance and invites curiosity. However, despite Katai’s justifications of space not intervening with the zen practice and the audio and visual elements of the video forming an unrepeated repetition, Nil’s movements become monotonous with the sound lurking. Causing early interest that may fall flat. Analysing the piece also brings one to question whether an outer body experience can truly be recorded through film, and whether the definition of ‘zen’ that is used by the artists has been attained.

See the experimental film below:

25 January 2018
Thebe Magus’s A/W 2016 collection delicately photographed by Nikki Zakkas

Nikki Zakkas is a young up-and-coming photographer from Johannesburg. She studied fashion at Lisof before moving into photography, it isn’t surprising then that her interests lie in ‘fashion portraiture and street style”. Zakkas is one of many photographers focusing her lense on the cities vibrant streetstyle, what sets her apart though and really establishes her as someone-with-something-different to contribute is the softness she brings to a space mostly romanticised for its chaos and intensity.

I spoke to Nikki about her latest project (a collaboration with fashion designer Thebe Magugu) and being a finalist in Elle Magazines annual style reporter competition.

Jamal Nxedlana (JN): How did you come to work with Thebe Magugu on these images?

Nikki Zakkas (NZ): I have been friends with Thebe since our studies at Lisof and so working together at some point seemed inevitable. I am also a big fan of his designs, which I find to be exquisite, culturally progressive, high and yet accessible/wearable.

JN: What was it like being a finalist in the Elle Style Reporter competition ?

NZ: Being a part of the Elle Style Reporter competition was a wonderful experience from start to finish. My favourite part of it was getting to meet the fellow finalists, all of whom were exceptionally talented in telling visual stories. I also appreciated the opportunity to talk to the Elle staff members who I admire so much for the creative work that they do at the magazine.

JN: What mood or feeling were you trying to get across with these images?

NZ: I was inspired by simplicity. I wanted to incorporate a minimalist style in my approach to shooting the collection so as to keep the focus on the model and the garments as opposed to a chaotic background.

JN: When I look at these images I see a softer side of Johannesburg, was this your intention or was this an idea developed specifically for this particular shoot?

NZ: I am very drawn to romantic imagery and so I suppose that this tends to reflect in my style and aesthetic. Most of my images have a sentimental and nostalgic feeling.

JN: Besides you living and mostly working in Johannesburg – what is the relationship between the city and your work?

NZ: As someone who likes to take pictures, I am highly sensitive and reactive to my environment. Given that Johannesburg is the context that I live in, it would be impossible for the city to not inform my photographs to some extent. That and the aesthetics of Johannesburg are truly unique in terms of its urban landscape. I am also constantly inspired by the interesting cross section of people that coexist in this city.

JN: What about shooting fashion interests you in particular?

NZ: I studied fashion and my work experience thus far has been in that industry. I am passionate about fashion and view it as an aspect of art, a visual language and a discourse. I love shooting fashion as it is powerfully expressive; clothing can evoke so many qualities. I also love street style photography for how it can signal a person’s identity through their presentation and style.

JN: What are you plans moving forward, any exciting new projects?

NZ: My plan moving forward is to hopefully travel for a while and practice my eye by shooting as much as possible. I am also interested to start assisting more experienced photographers as I am still young in my photography and would love to refine my work and expand on my technical skill set.

Photography credits:

Photography: Nikki Zakkas

Styling and wardrobe: Thebe Magugu

Model: Melissa Orren at Boss Model Manangement

Make-up: Sancia Naidoo

12 May 2016