Lee Hyunjun
South Korea, b.1982
Lee Hyunjun, who studied film and photography in California and Tokyo, captures urban and architectural landscapes through photography. What makes his photographs intriguing is the way buildings possess a stronger presence than people within his images.
His practice began by documenting spaces that were soon to disappear due to urban redevelopment and demolition, as well as aging buildings, capturing traces of a city in transition. Over time, however, his gaze shifted from the disappearing subjects themselves to the layers of time accumulated within these spaces and the ways in which that time remains embedded in human memory.
Rather than mourning the disappearance of the city, his current work turns its attention to the memories accumulated within it, revealing the city as an organic entity that is constantly being created and disappearing. At first glance, his photographs depict urban architecture alongside the natural surroundings, but what he ultimately seeks to capture is the atmosphere and emotions held within each place, as well as the traces of those who once inhabited it.
His practice began by documenting spaces that were soon to disappear due to urban redevelopment and demolition, as well as aging buildings, capturing traces of a city in transition. Over time, however, his gaze shifted from the disappearing subjects themselves to the layers of time accumulated within these spaces and the ways in which that time remains embedded in human memory.
Rather than mourning the disappearance of the city, his current work turns its attention to the memories accumulated within it, revealing the city as an organic entity that is constantly being created and disappearing. At first glance, his photographs depict urban architecture alongside the natural surroundings, but what he ultimately seeks to capture is the atmosphere and emotions held within each place, as well as the traces of those who once inhabited it.
