Ahn Chang Hong's solo exhibit showcases fashion without faces

Arts & Design

Published: 28 Feb. 2022, 15:05

Ahn Chang Hong's solo exhibit showcases fashion without faces

Artist Ahn Chang Hong stands in front of his artworks from ″Ghost Fashion.″ [SAVINA MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART]

At 69-year-old artist Ahn Chang Hong’s solo exhibition “Ahn Chang Hong: Ghost Fashion,” a wide range of luxury high-end garments by designer brands are on display — except the models wearing them are “ghosts.”

The exhibition, which commemorates the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and Ecuador, is being held at the Savina Museum of Contemporary Art in Eunpyeong District, northern Seoul.

“Ghost Fashion” is a homecoming exhibition, as it was first showcased in Ecuador’s Casa Museo Guayasamin museum and La Capilla del Hombre (“The Chapel of Man”) in November last year, hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Ahn is known to explore sociopolitical messages through his artworks, and has won numerous awards such as the 25th Lee Jung Seob Art Award in 2013 and the 10th Lee In Sung Cultural Foundation Award in 2009. His artworks are included in the collections of major Korean art museums including the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and the Seoul Museum of Art.

″Ghost Fashion 19″ (2021) by Ahn Chang Hong [SAVINA MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART]

In “Ghost Fashion” there are 55 paintings and sculptures, as well as some 150 digital pen drawings that he created using his smartphone. It also displays 85 sketches from his trips abroad to India.

According to Ahn in a press conference on Feb. 22, these artworks were intended to sharply criticize the prevalent materialism in modern society and the delusions and emptiness that follow.

“Fashion is probably the easiest way to express yourself, and at the same time it symbolizes capitalism, wealth and class,” Ahn said. “My paintings show costumes that pose in extravagant ways, yet no one is wearing them — they are empty and vain.”

It is Ahn’s first attempt at digital pen drawings, which he started in the winter of 2020 because he wanted to continue experimenting in art and that “staring at the canvas all day is boring.”

These digital drawings are shown on OLED displays, and Ahn said that even at this moment he is making new ones and is planning to continue to update his works on the screens.

″Mask 2019″ (2019) [SAVINA MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART]

His “Mask 2019” series — huge masks spanning over one meter (3.3 feet) in height made from fiber-reinforced plastic with a bandage covering the eyes — represent the “hidden conspiracies” in society. In the case of one particular mask that does not have a bandage, rather dons a wig and has bizarre, dot eyes, it metaphorically depicts someone who is “blind even though their eyes are open.”

This exhibition was intended for the pandemic era, as written in Ahn’s notes: “The streets of the city, which used to be filled with people at times very late [in the evening] or very early [in the morning], have become empty [...] If this isn’t a ghost city, then what would it be called[?]”

“Ahn Chang Hong: Ghost Fashion” runs through May 29. The Savina Museum of Contemporary Art is open every day 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. except Mondays. Tickets are 7,000 won ($5.80) for adults. For more information, visit the museum’s website (www.savinamuseum.com).

BYSHINMIN-HEE[shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]