Façades (Korean: 파사드), begun by South Korean artist and photographer Han Sungpil in London in winter 2004 and developed across Europe and Korea, examines architectural coverings that reproduce, disguise, or imaginatively replace the buildings behind them.
The project began when Han saw St Paul's Cathedral wrapped in a life-size photographic image of its own design during renovation. For him, the encounter collapsed the distinction between structure and representation: the temporary image concealed the building while also standing in for it. From this starting point, Façades considers how cities use idealized images to mask construction, decay, or absence, and how photography participates in a wider culture of simulation.
Visually, Han frames façades as both architectural surfaces and theatrical sets. Vanishing points, windows, curtains, and repeated planes create frames within frames, making it difficult to determine where physical space ends and printed space begins. Most works use saturated color, often matching a real sky or sunset to the palette of the covering. Dawn, dusk, streetlights, and restrained movement produce a suspended atmosphere in which the simulated surface can appear continuous with its surroundings.
Han initially used a large-format camera and long exposures to photograph existing building wraps and trompe-l’œil murals, carefully selecting his viewpoint and the surrounding light rather than digitally constructing the illusion. From 2009, he expanded this observational approach by designing and installing monumental photographic façades of his own before documenting them. He later presented related works through video, illuminated light boxes, mirrored rooms, and timed flickering, extending the project from photography into spatial installation.
Critics have connected Façades to architectural photography, Surrealism, and debates around hyperreality. The project has appeared in solo exhibitions such as Dual Realities at Arario Gallery and in major international events including the Yokohama Triennale, the Havana Biennial, and the touring exhibition Civilization: The Way We Live Now. It has also been documented in publications including Façade - Han Sungpil (2011) and INTERVENTION (2017), which present key works alongside later installations.
