London, United Kingdom, 93.4x120cm, Archival Pigment Print, 2024
Photographer Lee Won Chul presents his solo exhibition TIME – Time Outside the Clock at Gallery XeinXeno in Seoul's Jongno district. Running through the end of the year, this thought-provoking exhibition examines the symbolic significance of clocks and the nature of time in contemporary society.
Lee’s work focuses on the deeper meanings behind clocks, especially those adorning old European buildings. Historically, clocks served not merely to mark time but also as symbols of religious, political, and social power. The artist invites viewers to reflect on how clocks have shaped human life—once symbols of authority, they now dictate every moment of modern urban existence.
The exhibition challenges the traditional perception of time as linear and absolute. Lee notes that for rural communities, “clock time is irrelevant because they live according to nature’s rhythms. The time needed to plant and harvest crops aligns with the seasons and the sun's path, not with a mechanical clock. For instance, the daylight hours between the winter solstice and summer solstice differ by approximately six hours—an enormous variance that urban life tends to dismiss.”
In TIME, Lee uses long-exposure photography to erase the clock hands from his images, symbolically removing the measurement of physical time. Instead, he highlights the passage of time through subtle elements like the motion of people, swaying branches, and drifting clouds. These images, devoid of their traditional time indicators, challenge the viewer to reconsider the nature of time itself—an abstract, qualitative experience rather than a quantifiable metric.
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, 60x77cm, Archival Pigment Print, 2024
The result is an almost surreal visual presentation where only the clock face remains, its hands conspicuously absent. The photographs convey a stillness that prompts contemplation about the fluid, subjective nature of time. Lee’s work blurs the boundary between time as a physical construct and as an intangible, personal experience.
Given the reflective mood of the year’s end, the exhibition holds additional significance. As Lee explains, photography inherently carries a documentary quality, and his images serve both as records of time and as philosophical inquiries into its meaning.
Budapest, Hungary, 60x74.6cm, Archival Pigment Print, 2024
Lee Won Chul, an assistant professor at Hongik University’s Graduate School of Industrial Art, specializes in photographic design. He holds a PhD in photography from Hongik University and a bachelor’s degree from RMIT University in Australia. Throughout his career, he has consistently explored themes of temporality and perception through photography.
This exhibition invites visitors to pause and reflect on time—how it governs modern life and how its meaning shifts depending on context. Through TIME – Time Outside the Clock, Lee Won Chul offers a fresh perspective on time as omnipresent and elusive, encouraging viewers to reconsider their relationship with this universal yet deeply personal concept.
Sayart / Nao Yim, yimnao@naver.com
London, United Kingdom, 93.4x120cm, Archival Pigment Print, 2024
Photographer Lee Won Chul presents his solo exhibition TIME – Time Outside the Clock at Gallery XeinXeno in Seoul's Jongno district. Running through the end of the year, this thought-provoking exhibition examines the symbolic significance of clocks and the nature of time in contemporary society.
Lee’s work focuses on the deeper meanings behind clocks, especially those adorning old European buildings. Historically, clocks served not merely to mark time but also as symbols of religious, political, and social power. The artist invites viewers to reflect on how clocks have shaped human life—once symbols of authority, they now dictate every moment of modern urban existence.
The exhibition challenges the traditional perception of time as linear and absolute. Lee notes that for rural communities, “clock time is irrelevant because they live according to nature’s rhythms. The time needed to plant and harvest crops aligns with the seasons and the sun's path, not with a mechanical clock. For instance, the daylight hours between the winter solstice and summer solstice differ by approximately six hours—an enormous variance that urban life tends to dismiss.”
In TIME, Lee uses long-exposure photography to erase the clock hands from his images, symbolically removing the measurement of physical time. Instead, he highlights the passage of time through subtle elements like the motion of people, swaying branches, and drifting clouds. These images, devoid of their traditional time indicators, challenge the viewer to reconsider the nature of time itself—an abstract, qualitative experience rather than a quantifiable metric.
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, 60x77cm, Archival Pigment Print, 2024
The result is an almost surreal visual presentation where only the clock face remains, its hands conspicuously absent. The photographs convey a stillness that prompts contemplation about the fluid, subjective nature of time. Lee’s work blurs the boundary between time as a physical construct and as an intangible, personal experience.
Given the reflective mood of the year’s end, the exhibition holds additional significance. As Lee explains, photography inherently carries a documentary quality, and his images serve both as records of time and as philosophical inquiries into its meaning.
Budapest, Hungary, 60x74.6cm, Archival Pigment Print, 2024
Lee Won Chul, an assistant professor at Hongik University’s Graduate School of Industrial Art, specializes in photographic design. He holds a PhD in photography from Hongik University and a bachelor’s degree from RMIT University in Australia. Throughout his career, he has consistently explored themes of temporality and perception through photography.
This exhibition invites visitors to pause and reflect on time—how it governs modern life and how its meaning shifts depending on context. Through TIME – Time Outside the Clock, Lee Won Chul offers a fresh perspective on time as omnipresent and elusive, encouraging viewers to reconsider their relationship with this universal yet deeply personal concept.
