Park Jin Hwan _ Pioneer
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JULY 2023
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A few years ago, while looking at a freshly printed artwork in the studio of photographer Kim Woo Young, I casually asked the artist, “Where was this taken?” The response I received was, “What does it matter?” I felt a bit disappointed deep inside, but I didn't show it at the time. Later on, I had the opportunity to accompany the artist to Death Valley and Yosemite. It was when we were at Mono Lake, one of the artist’s favorite shooting locations, just before the dawn that he suddenly told me, “Look at the color of the water. Isn’t it beautiful?” Upon hearing those words, I silently thought to myself, “The color of water is either blue or green, so how beautiful can it really be?” Nevertheless, I gazed at the lake.
At that moment, I realized how absurd my previous question had been. We were at the same place, at the same time, looking at the same Mono Lake, yet the artist and I were experiencing completely different worlds. It wasn’t about “where” it was. It was about seeing the world from your own perspective, right there at that moment. Knowing that this moment would never come again, the artist has visited the same location dozens of times for more than ten years, trying to catch the very moment to obtain what he desired from that place. However, I was foolish and naive enough to believe that I could be able to capture the same magnificent scene as the artist did if I just went to that place. but now I know. What it takes to create such inspiring artworks is the artist’s persistent efforts to meet that moment and his own unique perspective on that place.
Through the eyes of Kim Woo Young and his time dedicated to artistic creation, we witness that water in different forms, such as the seas, lakes, falling raindrops, waterfalls, ice and traces left behind that we always encounter in life, are being reborn into the images we have never thought of before.
A sense of freedom and solitude vibrant with energy
When observing Kim Woo Young taking the photographs in the middle of a desert or at the mouth of a massive lake, the word “solitude” easily comes to mind. I cannot explain why that word pops into my head, but I feel like it has been with me for quite a long time. Since the moment when he made the decision to leave the commercial photography scene to focus on pure art, he has had to make it on his own. A sense of solitude the artist experienced during all those years must have been transferred to his surroundings.
However, there are no signs of sadness or melancholy in his solitude. Even the absolute silence and stillness of many static images exude a sense of vitality and renewal. The images of waterfalls in Yosemite and the roaring Yellowstone River suggest liveliness and tremendous energy. For the artist, the solitude seems to be the source of such vitality, liveliness, and energy accumulation.
Seeing that the artist looked so dejected when he returned from Alaska due to the melting glaciers, then he abruptly changed his destination to head straight to Iceland, his solitude is defined as a great sense of freedom and passion itself. More time in solitude brings more freedom and passion into his career. He explores every corner of the world and eventually captures the very moments he has long desired for his work.
The location doesn’t matter. His solitude, overflowing with energy and freedom, has always been and will be a vital source of inspiration and creativity.
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