Youngho Kang at BIFB...

My friend and colleague Jane Davies and I went to the Ballarat International Foto Biennale over the weekend and although it was bloody freezing, we still wandered around a good few exhibitions. My favourite amongst them was the work of South Korean photographer Youngho Kang.

'The prison that does not regret' from 99 Variations by Youngho Kang

I was still trying to work out if his series ’99 Variations’ consisted entirely of self portraits when Jane (who had wandered off) came excitedly running back to announce Mr Kang was in the building, about to give a talk. So off we went!

Turns out he’s known as 'the dancing photographer' because he likes to work to loud music and often dances around his subjects (either with or without a chair) and encourages them to respond.

He was fascinating to listen to and watch and his self portraits were unlike any others I’ve seen.

99 Variations is a series of self portraits that include the camera rather than excluding it because they’re all shot into a mirror. They’re incredibly detailed works. Props, backdrops, costumes, textures, lighting - nothing has been left to chance and the results are a series of stark, contorted and sometimes frightening images.
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An interesting take on the ubiquitous selfie.