Ilgwang in Busan, South Korea and Niko in Japan share the same Chinese character(日光). Japanese companies ran copper mines in both cities of the same name. During the period of Japanese occupation, some Koreans were relocated to work in Niko or stayed to work in Il-gwang. The now deserted mine, nestled underneath underpasses and scattered with machinery, still bleeds crimson rusts and stands as a living memory of labor exploitation amongst those who still live in the village.
Tag: south korea
-
Moments We Lose to Memory
I am inspired by the moments we lose to memory. I use photography to be present in both time and place to preserve simple yet natural moments in time. My choice of subject comes from my interest in the idea of minor gestures. As an anonymous stranger, I photograph relational moments of touch or movement that would be otherwise overlooked, disregarded, and easily forgotten. In a sense, the photographs I take are gestures; voiceless communications in and of themselves, expressing and assigning ideas or meaning to the moments they capture. The people and places in my photographs are intended to be ambiguous in hopes to provoke the viewer to interact with the images by gesturing with memories of their own to construct their own meaning.
It has only been my home for a short time, but I have found that Busan is a city full of minor gestures and small moments that often get lost in the wide dynamic of the city. These moments and gestures of the city are at the core of its warmth and its charm.
This collection of photographs was printed on Hanji, a traditional, handmade Korean paper and were presented from February 12 – March 3, 2019 at Cafe Dennis in Busan, Korea.
-
do they greet each other, through the gaps between those water molecules which bleach their voices white? in some mother tongue of their own, another whose meaning eludes me? or do they shake or nod their heads, without a need for words?
what do the ghosts of this city do, these muffled, early-morning hours?
slip soundlessly out to walk through the fog that has been holding its breath, and waiting?
do they greet each other, through the gaps between those water molecules which bleach their voices white? in some mother tongue of their own, another whose meaning eludes me? or do they shake or nod their heads, without a need for words?
-han kang, white.
images taken in namcheon-dong, busan, south korea with a leica mp & 35mm summilux v2 on fuji superia 400.
dylan barnes | blog 