[Joseonhee's Frame] A Call to Those Starting Long and Deep Relationships Through Photos

My first portfolio work was Death. On a cold dawn in May, I left my younger sibling floating in the waters off Sokcho and kept pressing the shutter. My love for photography ignored the compassion I felt for my sibling. Thus, my enduring romance with photography was deepening. Sokcho, 1991. Photo by Joa Joa Studio

[Asia Economy] Taking a photo is like falling in love. Whether it is a puppy love, a one-sided love, or a long-lasting, enduring love. I met friends around the age of twenty who were just beginning their love affair with photography through interviews. Over two days, I looked at the photos of 160 friends and had brief conversations of about five minutes each, which was all I could manage, but perhaps it was a more meaningful time for them, or maybe even for me. The nonstop interviews gave me a splitting headache, my back felt like it was cracking apart, and my legs felt swollen.

Nevertheless, I asked questions with all my soul until the very last person, and listened carefully to their answers through the masks because in their photos, in their eyes full of passion and voices full of thirst, I saw myself from 30 years ago.

I had never properly learned photography, nor did I know how to make it my profession, so I felt lost, but I felt like I would die without photography, my heart would burst just thinking about it. The many versions of myself from 30 years ago were sitting right in front of me now.

How could I take it lightly when my wrong judgment could change their lives? But I dare say, if you happen to fail, please do not be disappointed or give up. If you have passion and a pounding heart, photography will not betray you. You might take a detour, it might take more time, but that does not mean you have failed.

Failure will surely make you deeper and stronger, and those experiences will undoubtedly seep into your work, whether you realize it or not. It is natural that the subconscious inherent in an artist is reflected in their work in some way, so it will also be evident in the photos of you, the aspiring artists.

So, dear friends, fall into a deeper love! Not the kind of love where pheromones surge and you are blinded by infatuation, but a love where you understand the other deeply, caress them, sometimes keep your distance, then approach again and reach out your hand. Sometimes photography might not respond at all, or you might come to hate it. That’s okay. As long as you don’t abandon photography, those feelings will surely make our love for photography stronger!

The next day at dawn after returning home, I took out my first essay, “Waegwanchon-nyeon Jo Sunhee, Loving the Camera Enduringly”, filled with my emotions and stories from that time. Inside that book were countless photos very similar to the ones you took. Whether photos or art filled with darkness, loneliness, obsession, death, and time?these are the main common interests of people just starting their creative work. As I turned the pages, a smile lingered on my lips. It is clear that neither you nor I are geniuses. We have simply begun a deep and enduring romance with photography. How wonderful is that? I don’t know how long it will last, but we can have a deep and enduring romance!

Jo Sunhee, Photographer / Professor, Department of Photography and Imaging, Kyungil University

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.