Ahn Jae-hwan found dead in a car

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South Korean actor Ahn Jae-hwan, 36, was found dead on the morning of September 8 2008 in his car in a potential suicide. He lit a bonfire in the car which probably led to asphyxiation. The interior of the car in which Ahn Jae-hwan died tells an elusive story. A story worthwhile being painted.

A considerable part of my artwork deals with human-beings and extraordinary accomplishments, be it notable or simply memorable. When I saw my work recently I recognized some incongruities and partially poor painting.

This occurred, because I could not see well when I first painted it. Now, two cataract surgeries and a couple of years later, I gave it another try.

The official version

The South Korean actor Ahn Jae-hwan was born in 1972 in Korea. He became famous in the late 1990s and early 2000s acting in some well-known Korean TV series.

From Wikipedia: “Ahn was found dead in his car in 2008 being 36 years old. Police confirmed that he was spotted several days after his death as his body was already decaying. It is considered to be a case of suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning.”

Unofficially burned-out …

People were surprised because he was just married to Jung Sung-hee less than a year ago. 

The truth is also, that people do not party like Ahn if everything is right. Might be he felt a burn-out, might be he was sad because his successes diminished.

Ahn Jae-hwan made a bonfire within the car. Charcoal briquettes were found inside the vehicle. More than that he smoked cigarettes – I have identified four boxes. He drank soft drinks, water, and presumably also alcohol – different versions of photos circulate in the internet. I found three green glass bottles.

Ahn Jae-hwan burned-out in a double meaning.

History of this Painting

The template for the painting is based on a number of photos. 

No photo shows all the scenery, so I had to merge several photos with varying perspective. This did not work well in the first version. In the second edition of the painting I had to redo the complete perspective. 

It show now the fireplace, which I moved a little.

Most surprisingly a couple of photos that circulate show that the glass bottles have been removed. The water bottle looks like a tablet bottle. Ahn obviously carried with him a yellow bowl in garbage bags looks like a handbag. 

P.S.: Ahn Bae Hwan

It is quite difficult for us Western people to understand South-Korean names. According to the revised romanization An Jae-hwan is correct and using McCune–Reischauer comes to An Chae-hwan. Ahn Bae Hwan seems to be also possible.

Links:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahn_Jae-hwan
• https://channel-korea.com/ahn-jae-hwan-profile-cause-of-death/

This painting is part of the series “Burn-out”.