Kang Seok Ho: Brain Factory

Kang Seok Ho’s solo exhibition at Seoul’s Brain Factory on view November 2008 was curated by Lee Eun Joo. In this show, he shifted his subject matter by depicting figures taken from 100-minute long debate broadcasts on television or current affairs magazines, all in black and white. Gestures and body language of well-known figures such as politicians and athletes consumed in the media implicitly convey the narrative of the image, even though specific details about the figure has been cropped out. This is because each character’s innate personality, attitude toward others, and the status and social position they have secured are reflected in the unique gestures that the characters consciously and unconsciously perform. Therefore, anyone who has watched broadcasts of these prominent figures could probably guess the source of these faceless portraits. During the 18-day exhibition period, the works were presented like a relay, displaying only one piece each day, thereby only audiences who could visit the exhibition consecutively for 18 days would have the experience of seeing the entire exhibition.