A Meandering Meditation

The first time I saw the original work of the Korean photographer Jungjin Lee was in a small gallery/boutique in Kyoto called Soutousya. It was the time when Lee was launching her photo-book and therefore had an exhibition at Soutousya. Although there were not many photos in exhibit, I stayed for long to admire her work. The photo titled “Everglades #2” features four bushes and their reflection on the mirror-like lake. The seemingly ordinary landscape has a rather subtle sense of surreal quality; the almost identical bushes made me wonder if it was a genuine scenery or a fantasy.

Born in 1961, Jungjin Lee majored in pottery in university. She also took up photography during her freshman year. Being a self-taught photographer, she was determined to make photography her career. Apart from pottery and photography, she was also a devoted painter once and has spent time practicing calligraphy. Lee believes photography, painting, video arts, poetry and literature are all means of connecting one’s heart to the world, so we should not set any boundaries between them. Such a belief casts a heavy influence on the later direction of her art.

“Everglades #2” is a shot Lee selected from the photos she did in Florida Everglades. Through post-production, she cut out one of the bushes and duplicated it to reproduce this surreal yet real photography printed on washi (traditional Japanese paper). Lee shifted to use washi only after her favorite Korean made mulberry paper had ceased production. Both washi and mulberry paper are rather rough in texture, and so photos printed on these papers are not at all vivid in color and contrast. The blurry prints on the papers with irregular edges somehow appear like a mix of photography, painting and even crafts. This echoes her belief that a piece of work should not be defined by its medium. Viewers only need to dive into the landscape she creates, and experience her thoughts during the creation process. For the very same reason, I still find “Everglades #2” obscure even after reading her photobook multiple times. The actual magic of her work cannot be fully shown in books or on a computer screen.

Lee travels around the world for her photography, including places that have a complex political and historical background. However, Lee is disinterested in politics or history, she even sees them as obstacles to truly experience the local culture. She was once invited to Israel for a photography project called “This Place”. In the span of sixteen months, she visited the country multiple times. She was rather unhappy about being accompanied by archaeologist and philosophers provided by the organizer. “Of course, I have done my research on the country’s history before my trip, but once I have started shooting, I wouldn’t want to be filled with information, especially information provided by others,” said Lee in an interview about her shooting in Israel. The statement may sound arrogant, but seeing her devotion to photography and her sincerity towards her mind, it is not difficult to understand why would others’ voice be a hindrance to her creation.

“Meditation” is a word that Lee often uses to describe her creative process. It is merely a split second to press down the shutter, but she believes she can see beyond the superficial layer of the subject to see the truth and ultimately reach eternity. The tedious and time-consuming printing process is another prolonged meditation to Lee; her works of photography are created through meandering meditation, one after another.