FEATURED : Lensculture x Cortona On

The Move The COVID-19 Visual Project. A Time of Distance- Mini Stories

New eras have given us specific rules such as: a limited number of people for gatherings; social distancing between people; and increased quarantines and isolation. While I worked on my projects as a portrait photographer I could only capture a limited number of people. The pandemic made it difficult meeting new models for the shoots as usual. The challenge was that as a storyteller I was still attracted to capturing peoples’ narratives and how it affected their anthropological and social roles. I wanted to document the impact to their ages, occupations and relationships. ' Portraits in Pandemic ' is an on-going series trying to highlight humanities that comes with love, hope, courage, and innocence through the different people I met in unique conditions within my community. This is mostly composed of my family members and close friends in my neighborhood. I proceeded with my photoshoots wearing a mask for the safety of my models and myself and adherence to the rigid rules in South Korea. By taking portraits of people such as: a mother and her new born baby celebrating a centuries-old tradition of a child’s 100th day on earth amidst this pandemic; a group of students who prepared their school uniforms yet never wore them while waiting for an entrance ceremony at their school; and people holding on to their dreams while quarantining in place. I tried to reflect the positive energy they all radiate in the dark times we face today.