Projects
→ Eyes of Heimdal - Photo Exhibition
Theme: Let's have Heimdal's eyes 👁
In this photo exhibition, we talk about observators' eyes, the perspectives that view objects captured in photos. What makes an object captivating? We believe it's not the object itself, as much as it is the way it is looked at. Being able to view things with appreciation is a gift. Thus, we explore the photos of good people with good eyes through photos that they have taken to exchange each other's views and experience being in their shoes.
<undetached, 2019>
I went to college in Hong Kong. The Umbrella Revolution began in earnest in 2014, when I entered the school depicting a pink campus life in a global city where Eastern and Western cultures blend. Since my freshman year, my friends have attended protests instead of classes, and my school often has posters of "justice vs. attendance."
Five years later, in 2019, the extradition bill became a catalyst in Hong Kong, and anti-government protests resumed again. The number of participants was estimated to have increased to 2 million, a quarter of Hong Kong's population, and the prolonged and radical protests were no longer peaceful as before. The embers spread to many universities, and eventually the police entered the school and mobilized tear gas and water cannons. Every day, there were pieces of glass, stones, and waste products on the street, and on the campus reminiscent of a battlefield, classmates threw away library chairs to block the entrance and fiercely resist, creating firebombs. All classes for the semester were suspended due to the serious situation, and international students returned home in a hurry as if they were evacuating.
I also visited Hong Kong for my studies, but returning home did not solve the problem. As a political science major, I was confused about how to look at this political movement with both eyes. Above all, I felt heavy in the situation where I had to watch this city burn with parts of my life. However, I couldn't participate in the demonstration and make a noise for the democratization of this special administration, or on the contrary, pretend that it had nothing to do with it. International students, neither locals nor travelers, did not seem to know what to feel first about such an ambiguous position and identity that is directly affected while not responsible and authorized.
We use the word "attached" when we're affiliated or associated. The antonym is "detached," which means "separated." It struck me that, like the paper on a yellow umbrella hanging from the street lamp in the picture, we've passed through history in a state of neither being attached nor separated. Relationships that may not be entirely related, but not related. So I named this piece "undetached."
<être, 2019>
‘être’ is a word that means 'existent' or 'yes' or 'to' in French. It's one of the first expressions you encounter with any language you learn, like the be verb in English. The most basic and difficult to learn, this key verb changes in various forms depending on the person and tense, like any French verb. In addition to its original meaning, it also forms compound tense with some automatic verbs or all Ming and Ming verbs as auxiliary verbs. Can 'existence' be interpreted differently depending on time, person, place, and language? What are we?' and why do we have.
The place in the picture is Tuileries Garden in Paris. On a particularly embarrassing day when I didn't want to leave the house, I felt sorry for the end of the exchange period, so I forced myself to take a step-by-step step and arrived at the place. While taking a slow walk in this city, which is designed for a great walk, I wonder what leisure means. Time flies everywhere, but why are we living in the same time so fiercely.
It reminded me of the past when I was walking with my shoulders bumping into each other as if I were competing, missing the subway, catching a taxi, and sighing that there was traffic in a hurry. On the contrary, the people in the garden were leisurely reading, eating snacks and talking while fully enjoying the warm sunlight.
I'm sure they're the same 'being', but where does this difference between mindset and attitude come from? Who decides the speed of life? Why can't we stop so much and just run? What words can I add to the verb 'e ̂tre', which defines and expresses me? What kind of time have I lived and what kind of tense should I use? Is the subject of the sentence correct? How can I use this basic form of 'existence verb'? What can I express? I pressed the shutter of the camera with all these thoughts and made a title with my concerns about 'being' itself.
• Venue : Chungmuro Hong and Hong Gallery (5 minutes walk from Exit 5 of Chungmuro Station)
• Date and Time : 10/17 (Sat) 13:00 - 17:00
• Participating artists: Lee Hee-soo / Cindy Chan / Jeffoto Kim / Go In-ho / Eo Jin-seon / Go Joo-ri / Moon Kyung-hwan / Hyung Rayoon / Kim Sung-min / Kim Shin-young / Yang Sun-ah
About the gaze
One of the easiest elements of a person's perception of "self" is his or her gaze. In the exhibition, we should look at someone's picture and imagine what the world is like in that person's eyes.
I think it has two effects, the first is the growth of my gaze. I think if I want to be 'any' person, I need to change my gaze first. That's why it would be a good experience to refer to someone else's gaze. Second, to empathize. I want to use the word ‘compassion’, but it's understanding the person, not feeling sorry for him or her. It’s to practice looking at the world through others' eyes so you'll understand them better. And at the same time, overlapping eyes is, in the end, an ego's perspective. My expansion. Wouldn't that make me happier with someone and sad with someone else's sadness?
We're going to have a new look at our own eyes + 10 worlds, just like we're going to have the Heimdahll's eyes in Thor 👁! And I hope we can remember the day we exchanged our eyes for a long time.