Launch Recite Me assistive technology
A triptych of three portraits. On the left, a person in a black turtleneck and glasses looks forward. In the centre, a person with a cigarette in their mouth and a spade symbol on their cheek is surrounded by swirls of smoke. On the right, a person wearing a patterned scarf holds a pair of scissors.

Art: Nobody likes a show off, but Kang, Kang-hoon's paintings are unnervingly accurate

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Date
26 July 2013

Hmm. That’s odd. I thought these were real people living inside my disgustingly large screen. Oh wait, these are PAINTINGS created by artist Kang, Kang-hoon. What I don’t get about this sort of thing (apart from why hasn’t Kang, Kang-hoon been awarded some sort of lifetime achievement award) is why haven’t camera manufacturers just given up? You can imagine the big dogs at Leica seeing this and doing that thing when you brush everything off a desk in one swoop and storming out yelling “That’s it!” in rage. Because Kang, Kang-hoon is obviously some sort of human camera and we should be afraid, very afraid.

A person with round, tortoiseshell glasses looks directly at the camera. They hold a piece of glass or plastic featuring the Absolut Vodka logo and text.
Above

Kang, Kang-hoon: Modern day collage, unable to cry

A mixed-media collage of a face created from a torn piece of lined notebook paper. A pair of white-rimmed glasses sits atop the paper, while a simple line drawing defines the jaw and neck.
Above

Kang, Kang-hoon: Modern collage, custom made breath

A painting of a person with dark, voluminous hair looking downwards with a weary expression. Their face and clothing appear to be melting or blurring into a fluid, rippling effect.
Above

Kang, Kang-hoon: Modern Boy, island

A close-up painting of a person’s face, looking downwards with a sad expression. A single tear falls from one eye, and the right side of their face appears blurred or distorted.
Above

Kang, Kang-hoon: Modern Boy, island (close-up)

A hyper-realistic painting of a person with dark hair and red lipstick, looking directly at the camera. They hold a pair of silver scissors to a patterned brown and orange scarf wrapped around their neck.
Above

Kang, Kang-hoon: Modern lady, unsuccessful scissors

A collage of a person’s head and torso created from torn, aged paper. A pair of tortoiseshell glasses rests on the upper piece of paper, partially covering the words “AMERICAN CHROMI”.
Above

Kang, Kang-hoon: Modern Collage unable to cry

A person looks directly at the camera with a cigarette in their mouth, smoke curling around their face. A small black spade symbol is drawn on their cheek, and a playing card is tucked into a patterned necktie.
Above

Kang, Kang-hoon: Modern Boy 2, Unuseful weapon

A portrait of a person wearing round glasses and a black turtleneck. They hold a red decorative tray containing a green square cake with white icing and a blue bauble.
Above

Kang, Kang-hoon: Modern Lady, valentine day since girlhood

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About the Author

Liv Siddall

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Liv joined It’s Nice That as an intern in 2011 and worked across online, print and events, and was latterly Features Editor before leaving in May 2015.

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