With the solo exhibition “A Pleasant Day” the aff Gallery shows parts from three groups of works by the South Korean photographer ChuHa Chung in such a closed and comprehensive form in Germany for the very first time.

ChuHa Chung (* 1958) has been working on the development and dangers of nuclear energy production in South Korea and Fukushima / Japan like no other in his artistic photographic work. In addition to a variety of other projects, his artistic documentary series “A Pleasant Day” (2007) and “Sand Ice-cream” (2016), in particular, capture the environment and stories of people living and working in the immediate surroundings of the South Korean nuclear park. The abandoned region around the contaminated Japanese Fukushima, on the other hand, is the subject of the series and the book project “Does spring come to stolen fields” (2012). Chung contrasts the smoldering threat of nuclear power in his homeland of South Korea with the disaster that has already occurred in Fukushima almost admonishingly within his ten-year-long working process, thus creating both an artistically forceful and a contemporary historical memory of the region. The individual projects also undergo an aesthetic development and span a wide range from an almost classically understood documentary photography to an experimental use of the camera itself.

In the face of global climate change and the enormous challenges of our time, Chung’s photo series highlight the extent of the threats we all face. At least in Germany, nuclear power has had its day. The last German nuclear power plant is supposed to be shut down in 2022. But the dismantling of the decommissioned nuclear reactors will take many more years. It is also a challenge to accept globally and to support changes to a more sustainable world. It seems all the more interesting to follow Chung’s view to South Korea / Japan – from the perspective of a local, our view extends to details and unfamiliar beliefs and painfully brings us close to personal concerns.

Mar 16 — Apr 14, 2019
Opening Reception: Friday, March 15, 7 pm
Walk & Talk: Sunday, March 17, 5 – 6 pm,
with Pauline Friesecke (form. Kehrer Galerie) and the artist, and an introduction by Sarah Straßmann. Held in German.

aff Galerie

Kochhannstraße 14, 10249 Berlin
[Friedrichshain | Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg]

Opening hours: Sat & Sun 3 – 6 pm

Admission free