Kim Woo Young

Kim Woo Young presents a photo series that takes the stone—fragments of time in which humanity and nature coexist—as its central motif, capturing within it both the passage of time and the vitality of life. Close-up images of stones, whether stacked up or standing alone, evoke a surreal sense of scale and temporality, making it hard to measure the size and time. The lines and textures of the stones, observed in detail, lend unexpected immediacy, converting what might have remained a contemplative landscape into the reality in front of viewers. The images harbor both a quivering tension, as if the stones were on the verge of stirring, and a meditative stillness, as though in slumber. In this way, the subject emerges as both a witness to the rise and fall of eras and history and a transcendent being that quietly observes the swift changes of the present. Rendered in dark and weighty tonalities, the massive shapes of stones confront viewers with a profound sense of gravity, opening a space to confront time itself—its persistence and dissolution, its contemplative stillness and reflective thought.