Yeonsoo, 2013

artist statement
In Korea we have a saying: ‘naughty 7 years old’. We think a child of six or seven is at their most mischievous, which is when I started photographing my niece, Yeonsoo.

Every kid is special but she was simply the most impressionable and sensitive girl and it made me want to look at her more closely.

This process of observation required much delicate care. It was a fragile journey to the life and heart of a most unpredictable and sensitive girl, into her relationship with those around her: her family and friends –although they remain unseen in the photographs- and also to my own childhood. It came as a surprise for me to see how the little girl managed to express herself and react to the world. It took a while for me to understand that a kid has a character that hasn’t settled down yet, so she can be the sweetest girl at one moment and yet bitter or outrageous in the next. Her experience of the world is very limited by her young age, so that my sister is at once Yeonsoo’s best-loved companion and her biggest rival. And yet, a kid’s imagination is unlimited; they can be anybody they want to be.

Nowadays, Yeonsoo is going to school. I knew that the stage of being 7 years old would not last long. A period of transition was inevitable, which means moving from the family setting to the society of school. She has started learning how to live with others, and this has brought much laughter and tears as well. Young kids are like very soft clay or sponges, which become harder as they find their direction. It is how we learn to find our way in life. What I didn’t want to miss were these fragile moments of being a little girl, which all women went through.

Beyond my interest in her, there is also a reciprocal relationship between us. Looking at her, I often felt as if I was looking at myself as a child. It allowed me to meditate about how I came to be the woman I am today, and indeed what sort of person I’ve become.

민혜령, MIN Hye-Ryoung

[학력]
2009 School of Visual Arts 디지털 사진 전공 대학원 졸업, 뉴욕, 미국
2007 Fashion Institute of Technology 사진 전공 수료, 뉴욕, 미국
2001 한양대학교 독어독문학과 / 광고홍보학과 졸업, 한국

[개인전]
2010 In-between Double, 갤러리 콤마, 서울, 한국
2010 In-between Double, 갤러리 룩스, 서울, 한국

[그룹전]
2014 88th Annual International Competition, The Print Center, 필라델피아, 미국
2014 Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography, Coohaus Art, 뉴욕, 미국
2013 Lotus Photography Summer Photography Show, hpgrp gallery, 뉴욕, 미국
2013 The Family, at Detroit Center for Contemporary Photography, 디트로이트, 미국
2012 image12, ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers) Winner’s Exhibition, 뉴욕, 미국
2012 Nighttime Projection: FotoVisura’s Women in Photography, Photoville, 브루클린, 뉴욕, 미국
2011 2011 서울사진축제, 포트폴리오 공모전, 서울시립미술관 경희궁 분관, 서울, 한국
2011 A Decade of Photography in the Aftermath of 9/11, Greenwich House, 뉴욕, 미국
2011 The Changing World, an En Foco exhibition, John Jay Art Gallery, 뉴욕, 미국
2011 An Exchange with Sol Lewitt, MASS MoCA(Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art), 메사추세츠, 미국
2009 Surface Tension, SVA Gallery, 뉴욕, 미국
2007 Graduation Exhibition, Fashion Institute of Technology Gallery, 뉴욕, 미국
2006 Fashion Stories, Fashion Institute of Technology Gallery, 뉴욕, 미국
2001 한일 교류전, 세종문화회관, 서울, 한국 / 도쿄, 일본
2001 세미 갤러리, 서울, 한국
1997 유네스코 갤러리, 서울, 한
1996 유네스코 갤러리, 서울, 한국

[수상 및 경력]
2014 The Print Center: 88th Annual International Competition, Semi finalists, 필라델피아, 미국
2013 DCCP (Detroit Center for Contemporary Photography: The Family, Honorable Mention, 디트로이트, 미국
2012 Conscientious Portfolio Competition 2012 Winner, by Jörg Colberg
2012 2012 IPA (International Photography Award) Competition: Fine Art, Honorable Mention, 미국
2012 ASMP NY(American Society of Media Photographers): Image 12, Third Prize Winner, 뉴욕, 미국
2012 SeMA 신진작가 전시지원, 파이널 리스트, 서울시립미술관, 서울, 한국
2011 2011 서울 사진축제: 포트폴리오 공모전, 서울시립미술관, 서울, 한국
2011 Portrait Project, ‘CFCE Antigua’ 안티구아 스페인 문화원 콜라보레이션, 과테말라
2010 하퍼스 바자 코리아 2010 올해의 사진가, 한국
2010 Young Photographer Alliance: Benefit Auction, 뉴욕, 미국
2009 Hey, Hot Shot! Competition, Contender
2009 ENACT Charity Fundraise, Silent Auction, 뉴욕, 미국
2009 SVA MPS Digital Photography: Innovation in Digital Photography Award, 뉴욕, 미국
2007 FIT Commencement Award Winners, 뉴욕, 미국
2006 Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Project with Colin Finlay, 뉴욕, 미국
2003 제1회 Vogue Girl 비추얼 워크샵 사진상, 서울, 한국

[출판]
2010 꿈꾸는 도시에서 만난 소녀들의 방, 중앙북스, 사진과 인터뷰 콜라보레이션
2010 구호 아트북: Behind the Scenes from Seoul to New York, 하퍼스 바자, 뉴욕컬렉션 사진 콜라보레이션
2010 프린세스 라브라바, 위즈덤 하우스, 사진 콜라보레이션
2008 최범석의 아이디어, 푸른숲, 뉴욕 컬렉션 사진 콜라보레이션