Jongwoo Ahn

Gum bichromate is a technique first used by 19th century photography pioneers, including William Henry Fox Talbot and Robert Demachy. The printing process transforms negatives into delicate painterly compositions, blurring the lines between the two disciplines. Contemporary artist Jongwoo Ahn expands on this method by using traditional pigments from his home country of South Korea. In Still Life, monochrome studies of everyday objects – such as flowers, food and packaging – symbolise overlooked moments experienced during childhood. Ahn highlights the ways memories can merge, transform and disappear across a lifetime.

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Image Credit: Jongwoo Ahn, Still Life, (2022). Dry pigments on Mulberry Hanji paper. 180cm x 130cm x 5cm.