[Gallery Walk] The Painter Who Became a Gwangbu... It's Reality, Not a Painting

Hwang Jae-hyung Solo Exhibition 'Hoecheon (回天)'

After winning an award for painting miner work clothes of those who died in the 1980 Hwangji Coal Mine collapse
Suddenly left for coal mining villages in 1982
Traveled around Taebaek, Samcheok, Jeongseon, etc.
Lived as a miner for 3 years
Depicted coal mining village scenes and workers on canvas

In the 2010s, painted portraits using various materials including hair

Hwang Jae-hyung, Hwangji 330, 1981, oil on canvas, 176x130cm. (Photo by National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art)

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] From a distance, it looks like a vintage denim jacket over a V-neck white shirt. But when standing right in front of the painting, it no longer looks like clothing. It is unmistakably a work uniform covered in coal dust. On the right chest is a name tag embroidered with ‘Hwangji330.’ This implies the anonymous existence of a worker who can be replaced by someone else at any moment. The ID card in the left pocket shows an ‘expiration date’: June 30, 1982. The day this contract worker’s livelihood ends. The ‘Ssangbangwool’ logo on the white shirt is depicted so realistically that it almost seems to say, ‘This is not a painting but reality.’

This is ‘Hwangji330’ (1981), a painting by Korean realism artist Hwang Jae-hyung (69). It was painted after seeing the worn work uniform of a miner who died in a collapse accident at the Hwangji coal mine in 1980. The artist’s experience working as a day laborer in Ham-baek, Jeongseon County, Gangwon Province, and Jeongdong area of Gangneung City also served as a basis. The painting is over 2 meters tall. While studying in the Department of Painting at Chung-Ang University, Hwang received an encouragement award at the 5th Chung-Ang Art Exhibition (1982) with this work, gaining attention from the art world.

In 1982, Hwang suddenly left for a coal mining village in Gangwon Province. Reflecting on that time, the artist said, “If I hadn’t lived the life of a miner and just used it as a subject to win awards, I would have felt like a fraud.” He worked as a miner for three years, traveling around Taebaek, Samcheok, and Jeongseon. During this time, he captured the landscapes and workers of the mining villages on canvas. Unlike the past when he dipped his brush as a mere observer, his works painted with sweat as a miner brought realism to life. It was around this time that he earned the nickname ‘Miner Painter.’

Hwang Jae-hyung, Meal, 1985, Oil on canvas, 91x117cm. (Photo by National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art)

‘Meal’ (1985) was created after Hwang experienced the life of a miner. It depicts miners squatting in the pit, eating their lunchboxes. The way the headlamp lights illuminate each other is impressive. Even when bringing a spoon to the mouth, the light directed toward a colleague’s meal does not waver.

A solo exhibition featuring 65 works by Hwang Jae-hyung is currently held at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul. The exhibition includes works from the 1980s when the artist worked as a miner, scenes of declining abandoned mining villages and Gangwon landscapes from the 1990s, and portraits using hair and graphite from 2010 onward.

The exhibition is titled ‘Hoecheon (回天).’ Hoecheon means ‘to turn the heart of an emperor or sovereign’ or ‘to change the situation and restore a declining force.’ “Hoecheon is not a physical military revolution or coup d’?tat. It is a true overturning of values. Those who have must learn from those who do not, and those who have learned must learn from those who have not. Only when such reversals are realized can we prevent the disasters caused by mass production systems,” said artist Hwang Jae-hyung.

Hwang Jae-hyung, Baekdudaegan, 1993~2004, Oil on canvas, 206.5x496cm. (Photo by National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art)

In the mid-1980s, Hwang quit mining due to severe conjunctivitis. However, he did not leave Gangwon Province. He focused more on nature than human life while traveling between Taebaek and Donghae. A representative work from this period is ‘Baekdudaegan’ (1993?2004), a large-scale piece completed over 11 years. It measures 2 meters in height and 5 meters in width, depicting the calm scenery of the Taebaek mountain range after a night of snowstorms. Hwang recalled, “I even took a helicopter to look down to see the various aspects of the mountains.”

The artist also created many paintings connecting his mining village experiences with nature. One such work titled ‘Mother’ (2005) depicts snow-covered mountain ridges and valleys painted with ochre soil. The reason mining villages could exist for decades was likely due to the protection of the mountains shielding them from harsh storms.

Since the 2010s, Hwang has focused on portraits using various materials. A representative work is ‘Exposed Face’ (2017). Using hair as a medium, the elderly person’s hair texture and facial wrinkles are rendered hyperrealistically. Working with hair takes several times longer than oil painting. Hwang said, “Hair resonates with me because it is a film recording each individual’s life,” adding, “That’s why it conveys a steadfast spirit.”