Versus and Believing is Seeing

Versus, 2006-2007, Kyungwoo Chun


In his first color series 'Versus', 2006-2007, Kyungwoo Chun is investigating human relationships like he has done in his previous works such as 'One hour Portrait' or '30 minutes dialogue'.

'Versus' is inspired by the old chinese word 'ren' which looks like a walking person and has the meaning of 'human being'. This symbol was created out of the believe that no one can stand alone and that everybody needs someone to hold onto.

In 'Versus' people are asked to sit and lean onto each other for about 30-45 minutes. The exposure time is determined by adding up the ages of the two (female)models. Due to the long expose time the colors and shapes seem to float and mix.

In everyday life we are used to comparing ourselves with others or being compared to. Being close to another person also shows us who we are. We can only recognize our own face through that of somebody else. In Versus the two models depend on one another as neither one of them could stay in this position for such a long time on their own.