GALLERIFAGERSTEDT,STOCKHOLM,SWEDENPRESENTSHYUN-JINKWAK(SWE/KOR)THEISLAND–ACASESTUDYOFACOLLECTOR´SMINDHYUN-JINKWAKSwork“TheIsland”isnarrativeandobserving.Itisapowerfuldocumentofaplacewithtracesofanoldman'smaniccollecting.AmanliveshislifeinafantasticpalaceinthemiddleofReggioEmiliainItaly.Hiscollectionofobjectsfromaroundtheworld,fromhistravelsandfromhislife,keptinthebuildingandgraduallytransformsintoalivingpalaceruin,hiscollectionhasgonehaywire.

HYUN-JINKWAKisborninDaegu,Korea,1974andlivesinStockholm,Sweden.SheiseducatedatHong-IkUniversityinSeoulandatKonstfack/UniversityCollegeofArts,CraftsandDesigninStockholmaswellasatUIAHinHelsinki.Sheisrenownedinthegenreofstagedphotographyoftencombinedwithsculpture.Since1998,shehashadalotofseparateexhibitionsatmuseums,artcentersandgalleriesworldwide.ShehasreceivednumerousscholarshipsandawardsandisrepresentedinmuseumcollectionsinEuropeandinSouthKorea.ShereceivedgreatattentioninSwedenwhenshewas10yearsagoshowedtheseriesGirlsinUniformwithstagedphotography.Kwakworksprimarilywithjuststagingsandthecameraishermaintool.Herthemeshaveanunderlyingpsychology.Thereisalwayssomethingmorebeneaththesurface.Theremaybepeoplewhoengineerasituationthatwecannotfullyunderstandataplaceinnature,oranabandonedarchitecturethatcanbedifficulttocategorize.Maybethereisahiddenagreementbetweenpersonswhoactinthescene.Asaviewer,weareexcludedfromtheoverallunderstandingandwecanfeeltheuncertainty,wearemovinginaquagmire.Webegintointerpretandguesswiththehelpofourownpreferences.Itissimilartotheprocessbehindunderstandinganewlanguageoranewculture.IntheworkofTheIsland-ACaseStudyofaCollector'sMindworksKwakparallelstagedanddocumentaryphotography.Thebookofthesamenameisconstructedinthesameway,somehavedocumentarytextsandimages,andanotherisfictional.SheisrepresentedbyGalleriFagerstedt,Stockholm,Sweden.Forpricesandadditionalinformationcontactthegallery:gallerifagerstedt@gmail.com.www.gallerifagerstedt.se.Withsupportfrom

Hyun-JinKwakGrand#1–AViewofaLakeandaTemple,(fromtheProjectTheIsland-ACaseStudyofACollector'sMind),2011,ed5,2AP,190x232cm(hxw)C-print,siliconmounted,plexiglass,frame

Hyun-JinKwakGrand#2–AViewofaLakeandaTemple,(fromtheProjectTheIsland-ACaseStudyofACollector'sMind),2011,ed5,2AP,190x232cm(hxw)C-print,siliconmounted,plexiglass,frame

ThebookTHEISLAND–ACASESTUDYOFACOLLECTORSMINDByHyun-JinKwak.TEXTSbyGabriellaHåkanssonandMagnusBärtåsDESIGNSandraPraunEDITORSarahKim.PublishedbyRevolverPublishing144pages,80pagescolorillustration.30x25cm,Hardcover.Swedish/English/Italian

TheIsland–AcasestudyofacollectorsmindbyHYUN-JINKWAK“ChoosingthelocationforthesettingandstagingforthephotographyshootshasbeenanimportantaspectinmyearlierprojectGirlsinUniform.Thesechoicestookintoaccountthevisualqualitiesofarchitectureandlandscapes,butinthelastfewyears,thedecisionsforthesitewere,toagreatextent,basedonthelocation’shistory.Manyofmylocations/sceneriesinmyworksrefertoheterotopia;theplacesandspacesthatfunctioninnon-hegemonicconditions,andthataresimultaneouslyphysicalandmental.MylatestpartofGirlsInUniformwasadistinctexampleofthat.IntheprojectTheIslandIinvolvedmyselfmoredeeplyinaspecialspaceanditsmeaning,itshistory,andespeciallyitssymbolicandpoliticalsignificance.Inthesummerof2008,rightintheheartofReggioEmilia,somehundredmetersfromthemainsquare,Ifoundablindspotinthecity.Itwasabadlyrundownhousewithalargeironfenceandapadlockedgate,withasignwarningpeopletostayaway.Fromoutside,thehouseseemedabandoned.Thiswasalsothecommonopinionamongthosewholivedinthecity.Iwasabletoenterthebuildinganddiscoveredthatthehouse,whichappearedtobeaVenetianpalacecompletewithwallandceilingmurals,hadtoasignificantdegreebeenturnedintoaruinfilledwithgarbage.Butthepalacewasnotabandoned.A60-yearoldman,Francesco,livestherealongwithhisyoungCubanwifeandtheirnewbornson.Hewasrumoredtobeakleptomaniac,ormaybeevencrazy.Thehousehasbeenownedbyhisfamilyforoveracentury,buthasdeterioratedoverthelast20years.SomerenovationprojectshavebeeninitiatedbyFrancesco,thelastattemptwas10yearsago,buttheyhaveallfailed.Inthegarden,thereisacraneovergrownwithgrass,acementblender,andawheelbarrowfullofhardenedcement,asiftherenovationstoppedsuddenlyovernight.Inthemidstofallthisjunkthereisacagehousingacrowwithmissingtailfeathers.Theownersavedthecrowfromthejawsofoneofhisdogs.Francescoexplainedthatthedeteriorationofthehouseishisownfault,duetohisinabilitytogetridofpossessions.Headmitstobeingarrestedbythepoliceonseveraldifferentoccasionsforstealingthingslikedoorsandlargegates.Insteadoftakingcareofthehouse,hehasdraggedallkindsofstuffinside,whilerefusingtogetridofallthosethingsthatotherswouldconsidernothingbutjunk.DuringtheinterviewwithFrancesco,itbecameclearthatheisnotcrazyatall,butactuallyhasbothself-awarenessandself-distance.Aftertheresearchandstagingofthephotographsin

thisenvironment,Ireturntothehousetocontinuetheprojectbetween2008and2010.Inthiswork,Imakeacloserinvestigationofthehistoryofthehouse,thefamilybiographyandtheperceptionofthehouseasadeviationfromthenorm.InTheIsland,therundownpalaceisusedtoportrayhowaplacecanchallengeatown’sstructure,architecturallyandsocially.Iaminterestedinthepossiblestoriesthehouseholdswithinitself,andhowitsruin-likenatureconstituteanalmostarchaeologicalsite,wheredifferentsedimentsofhistoryaremadeclearer.Ialsowanttodescribeanaspectofcollecting,whereitisinastateofconstantexpansion,tothepointwhereerosionoccursandthecollectiondeterioratesandevendecomposes.Alloftheseaspects–thehouse’slocationwithinthecity,itsdecay,thecollapseofcollecting,becomingaslavetoone’spossessions–poseachallengetoasocialandpoliticalorder.IwillalsotrytoseehowthehousereflectsspecificallyItalianconditions,whichmakepossibletheexistenceofthis”livingspace”inthecitycenter.InthisprojectIworkwithstagedphotography,documentarymaterial,interviewsandvideomaterial.Abookisproducedwiththeimagesandaccompanyingtexts.Here,IcollaboratewiththeartistandauthorMagnusBärtåsandGabriellaHåkansson,whoseinterestliesinbiographyandthepsychologyofcollecting.Thetwoauthorsforthisbookwherecommissionedtowriteintheirownstyleandfromtheirownartisticstandpoint.Onewhowritesanessaybasedonobservationsandresearchonlocation(MagnusBärtås)andtheotherwritingfictionbasedonthestudyofthevisualmaterialprovidedandherownimagination(GabriellaHåkansson).Involvingthesetwowriterswhohaveverydifferentstylesofwriting,Ihopetofinddistinctartisticutterancesandexpressionsthatareraisedinaspaceinbetween,orinanintersectionoffiction,research,documentationandstagedphotographyandtheywillcreatelayersofdimensionintheprismaticcollection.Thetextsarenotjustillustrations,theystandasprofoundpiecesintheirownright.Iwouldliketothankallthepeoplewhomadethisprojectpossible,includingSwedishArtsGrantsCommitteeandtheMunicipalityofReggioEmiliafortheirsupport."Hyun-JinKwak