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Beneath the Surface (signed)

by Koo Bohnchang

Photographs: Koo Bohnchnag

Text: Koo Bohnchnag

Publisher: Eye of Mind

Year: June 2026

Price: 46 €

I have spent over forty years looking at the world through a camera and fixing images in place. Looking back, my subjects have largely been traces left by time. I was moved by the texture of every surface, and sought out objects and people that quietly stirred my attention.

Things that cannot be replaced are always compelling. The singular stories contained within each object are not formed overnight. Wrinkles and scratches accumulated over time layer upon one another, leaving natural traces unintended by human hands, yet possessing a beauty of their own.

Nietzsche famously wrote, “Appearance is the only depth.” Rather than searching for hidden ideas, he understood depth as something generated by the layering of surfaces. This thought speaks directly to my practice. The camera engages with appearances—their layers, textures, and quiet rhythms—and it is within these visible details that depth is formed. Through such depth, I have come to believe that photography can draw us closer to what lies within.

The Joseon white porcelain, the soap series, and the wall works I have pursued over many years would have been difficult to attain their present depth without the traces time has left upon their surfaces. Texture remains as the residue of time, nature, and unintended human actions.

As a child, I dreamed of becoming a painter. The act of creating meaning through countless layers of brushstrokes and gathering emotion remains compelling to me even now. This early aspiration may have led to my sustained attention to texture and trace. The images presented here are sketches drawn with a camera, grounded in the aesthetics of surfaces that come into contact with essence.

More books by Koo Bohnchang

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Random selection from the Virtual bookshelf josefchladek.com

look inside

Beneath the Surface (signed)

by Koo Bohnchang

Photographs: Koo Bohnchnag

Text: Koo Bohnchnag

Publisher: Eye of Mind

Year: June 2026

Price: 46 €

I have spent over forty years looking at the world through a camera and fixing images in place. Looking back, my subjects have largely been traces left by time. I was moved by the texture of every surface, and sought out objects and people that quietly stirred my attention.

Things that cannot be replaced are always compelling. The singular stories contained within each object are not formed overnight. Wrinkles and scratches accumulated over time layer upon one another, leaving natural traces unintended by human hands, yet possessing a beauty of their own.

Nietzsche famously wrote, “Appearance is the only depth.” Rather than searching for hidden ideas, he understood depth as something generated by the layering of surfaces. This thought speaks directly to my practice. The camera engages with appearances—their layers, textures, and quiet rhythms—and it is within these visible details that depth is formed. Through such depth, I have come to believe that photography can draw us closer to what lies within.

The Joseon white porcelain, the soap series, and the wall works I have pursued over many years would have been difficult to attain their present depth without the traces time has left upon their surfaces. Texture remains as the residue of time, nature, and unintended human actions.

As a child, I dreamed of becoming a painter. The act of creating meaning through countless layers of brushstrokes and gathering emotion remains compelling to me even now. This early aspiration may have led to my sustained attention to texture and trace. The images presented here are sketches drawn with a camera, grounded in the aesthetics of surfaces that come into contact with essence.

More books by Koo Bohnchang

more books tagged »Korean« | >> see all

Random selection from the Virtual bookshelf josefchladek.com

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