Donuimon Village

ACADEMIC | ARC1021 VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS

Instructor: Miles Gertler

September 2020

This complex isometric drawing adopted the binocular vision in traditional Asian art, here used not only as a method to demonstrate physical distance, but time as well. The past, present, and future of Donuimun Village and Seoul as a city are depicted in the drawing with time progressing as the viewer’s eyes travel up the image.

The depiction of Donuimun Gate is an image taken from an augmented reality app which used archival photographs and records to digitally restore the now demolished gate. The hanok houses simultaneously demonstrate the past and present. Taking sections of selected hanok houses expose how they were used and what types of people had access to them in the past, while the images of the site parallel to the houses denote the evolution to what it is today.

The imagined future at the top of the image is a collage of skyscrapers and high-rises built as a result of Seoul’s high population density, all overlaid on top of an ink painting of presentday Seoul from the 17th century. Chaekgeori, the Korean form of still-life painting which was popular in the Joseon era, also served as an inspiration with the objects reflecting the identities of their users and changes in Korean culture over time.