‘DPRK’ (Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea) by Philippe Chancel at Open Eye December 1 2006 to February 3 2007
Several large photographic prints in this exhibition alongside DPRK Sequences, a film made by Chancel during his North Korean journey. Recently edited and shown here for the first time, the film expands on the visual ambiguity he experienced.
Chancel managed to gain permission from the Korean authorities to take these pictures and present them as a work of ‘memory’. They are simple and neutral with no pathos or drama.
Of course, we only see what they want to show – the grand squares and avenues, happy children singing and dancing and a very plush railway station.
Along with the printed interview with Monica Nunez I found this quite an interesting exhibition.
Philippe Chancel (b.1959) lives and works in Paris, and has worked in art and reportage for over twenty years. He has recently been shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize. DPRK is his first solo exhibition in the UK.