Taking Meaningless Group Photos in Busan, and Joining Stranger’s Group Photos

2011, 3000mm x 6000mm Billboard Photos

Here Niwa undertakes the action of taking ‘meaningless’ group photos around the city of Busan with complete strangers. Usually we take such photos in commemoration of a particular gathering or collective but in this case the subject of the collective itself is unclear and it is upon each participant to apply their own meaning to joining such an action, willingly confusing the definition of the collective. The photos taken were made into huge posters which were presented on billboards around the city. Through utilizing the simple social action of taking a commemorative photo and the discomfort felt in this unnatural posing, Niwa seeks behind this the condition of our collective awareness. This is an act which calls into question the phrase ‘we’ which we often use as we face towards the world.

Cooperation: Busan Biennale Organizing Committee

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