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A line drawing of several small wooden houses and sheds collapsed into a chaotic heap. The structures are splintered and fragmented, with beams and roof tiles scattered across a plain white background.

Beautifully complex exploded buildings from the incredible Yoonmi Nam

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Date
22 March 2013

South Korean fine artist, RISD graduate and Associate Professor at the Department of Visual Art, University of Kansas, Yoonmi Nam, creates exquisitely delicate sumi ink drawings of deconstructed pieces of architecture that are utterly breathtaking. Taking her Kansas surroundings as inspiration, Yoonmi rips apart the structures that populate her locale, using the broken masses as “a metaphor to communicate transience and impermanence, and perhaps our desire for permanence and immortality.” Whether they’re a visceral journey into our subconscious or a representation of our own fleeting nature on the planet, it’s Yoonmi’s undeniable skill as a draughtsman that brings these images to life with enviable complexity.

A line drawing of a cluster of dilapidated wooden houses, collapsed and leaning into one another. The structures are fragmented, with splintered beams and shattered roofs creating a chaotic pile of debris.
Above

Yoonmi Nam: In Between and In Transition

A line drawing of a large, chaotic pile of wooden slats and beams. The structure is rendered in thin black lines against a plain white background.
Above

Yoonmi Nam: In Between and In Transition

A line drawing of a precarious, makeshift structure built from salvaged wood and panels. The fragmented building leans to one side against a plain white background.
Above

Yoonmi Nam: In Between and In Transition

A line drawing of a cluster of dilapidated wooden buildings and shacks. The structures are crumbling into piles of splintered planks and debris against a plain background.
Above

Yoonmi Nam: In Between and In Transition

A minimalist drawing of a chaotic tangle of thin, intersecting lines on a plain off-white background. The lines overlap to create a dense, jagged cluster that resembles a pile of sticks or shards.
Above

Yoonmi Nam: In Between and In Transition

An illustration of five collapsed wooden huts, drawn in fine black lines on a plain off-white background. The structures are splintered and fragmented, appearing as if they have been demolished or weathered away.
Above

Yoonmi Nam: In Between and In Transition

A line drawing of a small house sinking into swirling water. The roof and a single door float on the surface against a plain, pale background.
Above

Yoonmi Nam: In Between and In Transition

An ink illustration of two high-rise buildings emerging from swirling clouds of smoke. The structures appear to be crumbling, with thick plumes of smoke billowing from their roofs and bases.
Above

Yoonmi Nam: In Between and In Transition

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About the Author

James Cartwright

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James started out as an intern in 2011 and came back in summer of 2012 to work online and latterly as Print Editor, before leaving in May 2015.

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