NICK KNIGHT: IMAGE

Daelim Museum presents NICK KNIGHT: IMAGE, a solo exhibition of the world’s most influential photographer, Nick Knight, from October 6, 2016 to March 26, 2017. Nick Knight is one of the first-generation of photographers who attempted to combine photography with digital image technology. A self-described image-maker, he has built up a unique style encompassing a broad spectrum of genres ranging from documentary to fashion photography and digital film. His collaborations with internationally acclaimed designers, brands, and magazines, including Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Christian Dior, and Vogue, have won him a passionate following and attracted wide attention.

NICK KNIGHT: IMAGE provides a comprehensive overview of the oeuvre of an artist who has never hesitated but made bold attempts to transform values of life and notions of beauty through his own unique “image,” ranging from documentary to photography that challenged universal perspectives in the fashion world, experiments that pushed the boundary between photography and painting, and fashion film that added the movement of garments to images. Divided into six sections, the exhibition begins with “Skinheads,” a series exhibited worldwide for the first time since its publication as a book in 1982, and “Portraits,” the project that launched Knight’s career as a fashion photographer through distinctive portraits of leading figures of the art and fashion world at the time. This is followed by “Designer Monographs,” the groundbreaking photography series of long-term collaborations with fashion designers such as Yohji Yamamoto and Jil Sander that challenged the established views of the time in the fashion world by concentrating on clothing itself, rather than models or peripheral elements. Next, viewers are introduced to “Painting & Politics,” campaigns combining fashion with provocative messages upon social issues normally sidelined or seen as taboo; “Still Life & Kate,” which consists of an experimental three-dimensional sculpture and a series of images that blur the boundary between photography and painting. The final section of the exhibition, “Fashion Film,” brings together a collaboration film with fashion designer Alexander McQueen, with whom Knight had maintained a significant relationship, and recent works that apply various video techniques to convey the narratives imbued in the garment.

This exhibition presents some 110 key works by Nick Knight, from photos to video installations, highlighting his artistic, avant-garde experimentations that constantly overturn conventional notions and values of beauty. His images offer viewers new visual stimuli, bringing them not fear of the unfamiliar but a sense of excitement. Knight’s creative viewpoints and powerful messages instilled in his works will help viewers develop the courage to express their own unique perspectives to the world.

Daelim Museum
Located in the center of Seoul in Korea, near historic Gyeongbokgung Palace, Daelim Museum began its life as Korea’s first specialist photography museum in 1996. Since then, Daelim Museum has introduced a variety of creative concepts and forms in contemporary photography and design, now established as art forms within our everyday lives. Its innovative exhibitions, accompanied by a range of cultural and educational programs, have touched the lives of countless viewers. In 2012, the tenth anniversary of Daelim Museum, the foundation opened D Project Space, a creative facility for young Korean artists, in Seoul’s Hannam-dong neighborhood. In 2016, to mark its 20th anniversary, the Daelim Cultural Foundation took another step forward with the opening of D Museum on Dokseodang-ro Street, also in Hannam-dong. D Museum is bringing new change, reaching out to more viewers with the kinds of content exhibited until now at Daelim Museum, providing high-quality cultural and artistic experiences in a larger venue.