Shudder (The start of something beautiful) (2020-21)
Jaime Hyun-bin Jo studied electronic engineering in Seoul, Korea and then went on to do a Photography BA and MA at Kingston School of Art, London.
Shudder brings together a series of images generated during lockdown through an exhibition and publication.
In June 2020 working with expired analogue medium format film, Hyun-bin Jo set up a studio in his Bloomsbury apartment in London photographing female friends and models nude wearing masks. Prior to this during the lockdown, he took pictures of flowers; the reproductive organs of plants because they were easily found and offered beauty in an increasingly anxious world. As the impact of COVID-19 impeded economically and socially more and more on his life as an international student, and he lost his job taking pictures for Korean tourists in London, he returned to Seoul to continue studying from afar. On returning to Korea the work took a different turn with Hyun-bin Jo experimenting with the movement of the camera to disrupt representation and raise questions about ways of seeing in relation to the female body.
This period has brought great self-reflection for Hyun-bin Jo, his motivations and interests in photographing women and what kind of person he would like to be. As he rethinks and rebuilds his life, photography plays a central role.
For more information visit Hyun-bin Jo’s website and instagram.