<Untitled>, 2023~2025

The Color of Memory: Collision of Substance and Shadow, Memory, Trauma, Self-Portraiture, Staged Photography, Shadow

JINWHO (Juwon Kim) is on the psychological reenactment of memory. Through staged self-portraits, JINWHO visualizes the ephemeral space where personal trauma, illness, and recovery transform into a new sense of identity. The work employs dramatic lighting and ambiguous gestures to capture the collision between substance and shadow.

My initiation into photography began with an attempt to reproduce memory—specifically, the color and essence of memory—and to confront my evolving identity. This exploration was fundamentally triggered by the recollection of hospitalization and the anxiety surrounding two thyroidectomy surgeries. The process became a quest to transform these memories of illness, trauma, and recovery into a definitive sense of self and justification for existence.

The core of my work is the psychological dramatization of these deeply personal diseases, wounds, and recollections. I deliberately manipulate lighting to create a sense of theatricality and utilize ambiguous, unfamiliar gestures to achieve a deliberate visual estrangement. This artistic staging allows the substance of the self and its shadow—the psychological inner turmoil—to physically collide within the frame.

I employ self-portraiture as a vehicle for staged photography, extending and expanding the interpretation of my personal narrative. By carefully establishing context and incorporating associative objects, I express these internal conflicts, both directly and indirectly, striving for an image that is intensely personal yet universally resonant with the fragility of the human condition.