Installed between the two pillars at Euljiro 3-ga subway station are two advertising boards; they are different from the old ones. Kim made advertising light boxes that are visible from both sides and inserted photos on either side. Thus, two wide light boxes became exhibition spaces. On one side is a photo titled Hajin Dries off the Phone, with Eutae Sprinkles the Ash from the Thermos Bottle on the other side. Presented in a public place, Kim’s photos reject our attempts at comprehension. We cannot easily grasp the meaning of his photos. Perhaps these images are open to various interpretations. In the middle of Eutae Sprinkles the Ash from the Thermos Bottle, he printed his cell phone number in black ink over a white background: “Ask for the advertisement (018) 203-4676.” In his work, Kim advertised himself: at the bottom of the other side of the photo, the company’s logo is printed. Here, his photos and company logos coexist, even though the images do not look like corporate publicity materials. This work does not fit into existing classifications of “advertising photography” or “artistic photography,” but rather plays between the two. Kim may have intended to construct his own exhibition space (wide light boxes that can be used on both sides) in order to regularly change his works. His photos appear and disappear with fluid, uncertain, and changeable images.
