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| Photographer Koo Bohn-chang, far right, attends the opening ceremony of exhibition "In the Spirit of George Rose" at the Korea Foundation Gallery on Oct. 13. Deputy Head of Mission at Australian Embassy Ravi Kewalram, third from right, Paul Schofield, Counselor at Australian Embassy Paul Schofield, second from left, and Australia-Korea Foundation Director Lee Hyo-jin, far left, were also present. / Courtesy of Koo Bohn-chang |
Cultural project commemorates George Rose's work
By Rachel Lee
Australian photographer George Rose, born in 1861 in Clunes, a rural village in the Victorian goldfields, travelled the world taking photos. On a visit to Korea in 1904, he captured a very historic moment.
His iconic images that show the people and the country in the late Joseon era under Japanese rule have been praised to this day. To commemorate his photography, Korean photographer Koo Bohn-chang and Australian William Yang have worked on an exchange project, "In the spirit of George Rose," which is on display at the Korea Foundation Gallery in Seoul until Oct. 22.
"Our cultural exchange project created images that captured the spirit of George Rose," curator Catherine Croll said. Croll is the founding director of Cultural Partnerships Australia, established in 2010. She also has been director of special projects at the Red Gate Gallery in China since 2009.
In March, the two artists explored each other's country to capture present-day images, some 110 years after Rose set foot on the Korean Peninsula.
Koo explored the Clunes district and captured the essence of the culture and people, and Yang visited Paju in Gyeonggi Province and other parts of Korea.
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| "Dong Gang River" by William Yang / Courtesy of Catherine Croll |
"These beautiful images provided us with a unique opportunity to re-examine ourselves through their camera lens, to see a new way of looking at Clunes and its people," the curator said. "At the same time, we were able to explore similarities and differences between Korea and ourselves by embracing a cross-cultural gaze _ a contemporary Korean view of the local landscape."
The selection of portraits and streetscapes includes "Gum Forest" and "Bushells tea caddy" by Koo and "Hotel Foyer" and "Dong Gang River" by Yang. A collection of Rose's original works also is on show.
Celebrity photographer Koo, 62, has a deep connection with Rose ― Koo has been the artistic director of the publication "1904 Korea Through Australian Eyes," published by Kyobo Book Centre and the Australia-Korea Foundation in 2004.
The relationship between Clunes and Korea began to develop after Clunes became Australia's first accredited "book town" in 2007, when the town launched an annual book festival.
"Representatives from Clunes travelled to Korea in 2012 to visit Paju Book City," Croll said. "And they became aware of George Rose's extraordinary images of Korea taken in 1904. With support from the Australia-Korea Foundation and AsiaLink, the relationship became strengthened through cultural exchanges based upon Rose's connection to Clunes and Korea, from July 2013."
Rose's stereograph also is on display at the exhibition. The stereograph has two images mounted next to each other and when viewed through the lenses the photos converge into a single three-dimensional image.
"We hope to invite young photographers to participate in future exchanges to build upon the strong foundation and friendships that we have established," the curator said. "We also hope that the exhibition will tour to a number of other Korean cities including Paju."
Sydney-based Yang is known for gender and cultural-themed works that have been collected by distinguished institutions including the National Gallery of Australia, the National Library of Australia, the Higashigawa-cho Municipal Gallery and the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography.
For more information about the exhibition, visit www.kf.or.kr.
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