A Photographer Who Collects Time

Time poses a challenge to everyone who picks up a camera. Developing a unique approach to time is the process in which a photographer shows his or her originality. Renowned photo artist Koo Bohn-chang has been given the nickname ¡°collector of time¡± due to his meticulous and captivating approach to time.

Koo does not obsess over technical devices in order to give permanence to his photographs, documents of the transient. To him, the most important thing is the time taken to reach the essence of the subject, the time taken to see its hidden beauty, and thus experience communion and resonance with the subject.

Koo once said, ¡°If someone is moved when viewing a photo, it must be because the communion between the subject and the photographer has permeated into the film, like a kind of energy.¡± The time he has poured into thinking and working on a photo go into the film. Once that has been done, he ponders, ¡°Where, and how should this photo be placed, so that viewers may empathize with the photographer¡¯s intent?¡±

The Value of Small Things

Koo Bohn-chang sees the time and effort taken to get to the essence as the most important parts of photography, and focuses on how best to reveal this essence. He wants to take away superfluous details and embellishment and talk about the essence. He is wary of overinvesting energy in the details, at the risk of losing the essence. He takes interest in the simple and the small, rather than the large and splendid. ¡°Beings that quietly hide one step back, without drawing attention to themselves, they may look worn out and no longer of use.

However, if you take an interest in them and look closer, the stories they have absorbed within start to seep out. I want to talk to and listen to small and quiet beings, to get closer to their traces of time, their essence of being, through small voices rather than loud, through changing things slowly rather than rapidly.¡± He is exceptionally skilled at viewing a subject in a way that only he can.

The Power of Perspective

In fact, the reason why Koo began photography was not some grandiose mission. As he puts it, ¡°I wondered what I could do as a human in this world. I wandered. When I started taking photographs, I was finally able to see my raison d¡¯être.¡± Just as inconspicuous objects gain meaning in Koo¡¯s photos, Koo was also reborn as a ¡°meaningful being¡± through the medium of photography. He had majored in business at a prestigious university and was hired by an equally prestigious company. However, his thirst for artistic expression kept growing. Finally, he gave it all up to study photography at the Fachhochschule in Hamburg. As he was approaching graduation, he paid a visit to Andre Gelpke, a photographer he had always admired. Gelpke said, ¡°Although these are good photos, they don¡¯t show your unique identity. I can¡¯t tell if these were taken by a German or a Korean photographer.¡± From that point on, Koo began pondering his own identity as a photographer, and his intellectual and artistic efforts led to his unique perspective. The accumulation of time spent in building this perspective is the energy in his work today that draws the highest praise of all: ¡°Only Koo Bohn-chang could have taken this photo.¡±

He explores the basic formal characteristics and essence of various subjects, such as ceramics, soap, masks, utensils, hands and feet, simplified to points, lines and sides. He uses minimalist compositions and controlled palettes to expand the scope of his photography to broader themes such as the finiteness of time and the human condition.

Numerous Layers of Ongoing Work

Koo works on many different projects at the same time. Just like multiple windows opened on a computer screen, his projects progress simultaneously. There are still more ideas in his head waiting to be brought to life. However, he doesn¡¯t take any of them lightly. Another of Koo¡¯s unique talents is the ability to work faithfully on numerous layers simultaneously. It is no longer a surprise to him when these large and small ideas weave together at some point in time, resulting in a single story and unified piece.

Koo is an established artist who has been active on Korea¡¯s modern photography scene for over 30 years, slowly accumulating rings like a pine tree. He still continues to expand his layers of work, and keeps himself as busy as ever. In April, he was invited by the city of Milan to hold a month-long exhibition titled ¡°Acqua-Water-¹°¡± at the Civic Aquarium. It was a highly prestigious spot, at a key exhibition space created for the 1906 Milan Expo, during the high season for exhibitions in Milan. Furthermore, the chief director of all museums in Milan requested that he photograph the collection of the Milan Natural History Museum and hold an exhibition of the resulting work. Another layer added to his workspace. He is very excited about the opportunities presented by the new projects.

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