“Erwin Olaf: Unfinished World – Perfect Moments” is curated by the Suwon Art Museum in South Korea, providing a comprehensive overview of the creative context of Dutch artist Erwin Olaf and his ongoing focus on contemporary social issues. The exhibition features a selection of approximately 134 works including photography, installations, and videos by Erwin Olaf, showcasing his various series of creations spanning 40 years. Through four thematic sections, the exhibition reveals the seemingly quiet and perfect life portrayed in the photographer’s work, while exposing the imperfect aspects of the contemporary society in the “Unfinished World.”
First section: “Contextual Moment: Narrative Performance,” Olaf narrates the dramatic emotions of humanity through carefully arranged backgrounds. After 2000, his main creative themes have been sensations and emotions. He actively applies different media, incorporating narrative stages into visual images to create cyclical narratives. The 2012 work “Keyhole” is an installation that features flat photographs on the exterior and plays two videos on the interior. It forms a cyclical structure: as the audience peers through the keyhole to see the interior moments, the characters in the external photos also gaze back at the audience peering in.
Second Section: “Urban Space: Fantastical Imagery”. Since 2010, Olaf has begun creating a series of works using real cities as a backdrop. From this point on, the boundary between reality and artistic illusion in his works has become increasingly blurred. In this section, the artist breaks free from the traditional photographic documentation of reality, indirectly revealing the illusion projected by each city under rapid change, thereby infusing narrative into the photographs. To this day, exploring the border between reality and illusion remains a major characteristic of his work.
Zone Three: “Classic Images: Beyond Contemporary,” Olaf, in the “In the Woods” series, begins to showcase a surreal appearance against the backdrop of nature. While these images may resemble 19th-century Romantic paintings, he introduces the theme of “the relationship between humans and nature” into an imperfect world, presenting “perfect moments.” Upon closer inspection of the figures in the tranquil black and white landscapes, one will find that their connection to nature seems to have disappeared, either wearing headphones or taking selfies, completely unaware of the vast nature.
Humans underestimate the arrogance of nature, contrasting the vast fog and majestic mountains in the photos, making people feel the boundlessness of nature that humans can never conquer. The artist deliberately uses ambiguous symbols to confuse the audience, leaving some open blanks at the end of the work.
“Erwin Olaf: Unfinished World – Perfect Moments”
Date: From now until November 27, 2022
Location: National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, No. 2, Section 1, Wuquan West Road, West District, Taichung City, Taiwan
Image source and learn more: National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts
