GRAPHIC WEST is a series of experimental exhibitions produced in collaboration with graphic designers who are based westward {or outside) of Tokyo. The ninth event in the series was a collaboration with Sulki & Min, a duo of Korean graphic designers. The exhibition focused on 1he philosophy of this pair who, although based in Seoul, engage in international, critical activities transcending the framework of conventional Korean and Asian design. They continuously create superlative works in almost all areas that today's graphic designers are interested in: not only works designed for a client, but also works prepared for exhibitions, publishing activities, video/internet production, translation/writing, etc. The exhibition introduced an extensive selection of Sulki & Min's works spanning from the mid-2000s, when they launched their careers, up to the present.
ID
ddd_227
Exhibition Name
GRAPHIC WEST 9: Sulki & Min
Period
January 16, 2021–March 19, 2021
Exhibition Type
ddd exhibition
Venue
ddd Uzumasa, Kyoto
Featured Designers
Poster Designers
Curator
Space Design
Exhibition Commentary
posted on YouTube- Participants: Sulki & Min、GOTO Tetsuya、NISHIYAMA Hiroshi
Sulki & Min explained their approach to their exhibition. Whereas their previous solo exhibitions specific themes have delved deeply into for this exhibition they were presenting a broad overview of all their works created since 2005, as a way for people to get to know them. The reason they used a spreadsheet motif as the key visual in the exhibition's publicity materials, was their projects were always carried out using such spreadsheets. Followed by curator Tetsuya Goto, who has been on close terms with the duo since 2011, to foster deeper understanding, he had added supplementary materials in the gallery: explanations of individual works and the feature that appeared in "IDEA" magazine. Hiroshi Nishiyama of NO ARCHITECTS, who was in charge of the exhibition design, spoke on how he had reproduced on galvalume steel sheets the white noise that Sulki & Min use in the background of their digital works, favoring a focus on presentation over display Mr. Nishiyama said he was able to emphasize the works rather than the artists. Sulki & Min commented that they were able to achieve a very satisfactory exhibition thanks to the relationship of mutual trust achieved through online communication in the planning phase.
ddd GRAPHIC WEST 9: Sulki & Min 展覧会解説
Online Gallery Tour
posted on Youtube- Participants: HARADA Yuma、NISHI Madoka、GOTO Tetsuya
This Gallery Tour was shot from the perspective of Yuma Harada, an Osaka based graphic designer, using a wearable camera. Curator Tetsuya Goto served as moderator with Mr. Harada and Madoka Nishi as guest commentators watching the recording. The presentation opened with the participants each introducing their exchanges with Sulki & Min to date. Next, while watchin the video filmed from Mr. Harada's perspective, they observed the works on display virtually. Mr. Goto continually interspersed his comments as curator. Mr. Harada said that from a chronological arrangement he gets a sense of the transitions in an artist's interest. Of the posters on display, many had been printed on demand in Japan for the exhibition, offering insight into the artists' strong preferences. Ms. Nishi said the artists' worldview was fully conveyed. The video displays were nonrepetitive collages automatically generated by computer program reusing printing data. Mr. Harada remarked that although nearly all the works can be viewed on Sulki & Min website, the gallery show offered an understanding of Seoul's true graphic design scene and the trust toward these artists that can be sensed only through works in an exhibition setting.
Gallery
Photographer: YOSHIDA Akihito