Men Don’t Cry, 2021

artist statement
My dad cries a lot these days. Any sad movie never made him cry before. He didn’t cry when our dog died and when his son shaved his head to join the navy. He also didn’t cry on the day that his dad passed away and his mom abandoned him when he was six years old. And now I see his tears very often.

“Men don’t cry.” He said this to me, who used to cry a lot, like a habit. He said I have to learn how to hold tears to be a ‘man.’ When he was a kid, he held his tears to protect himself from people who despised him just because he was an orphan. After he had a family, he didn’t cry to protect his wife and sons from this harsh world.

The tears he held slowly rose from his feet to lachrymal gland. And the night the ‘man’ realized that he can’t hold anymore, the tears were already flowing on his cheeks. Now I see dad’s tears that nobody hadn’t noticed filling up inside of him. I asked if I could take a photograph of him when he was crying. Even at this moment, he tries to be a ‘man’.

“Yes, but don’t show this to your mom. She will cry.”

1. Leaving
“Don’t show this to your mom. She will cry.”

2. Raise Your Hand
“My teacher asked the class, who doesn’t have a refrigerator at home? I raised my hand. She asked, who doesn’t have a TV at home? I raised my hand. She asked, who doesn’t have parents? I raised my hand.”

3. Public Bath
“I had always envied kids who go to public baths with their dad. I don’t remember if I went to a public bath with your grandfather. That is why I love to go there with you guys.”

4. Island
“Sometimes, I imagine that I am swimming all alone to find happiness somewhere in the sea.”

5. Hook
“When I can’t stand my life, I just go fishing with an empty hook. I throw the hook into the sea and sit for hours and days.”

6. Hair Loss
“Does it look too empty? Isn’t it better than last year? I don’t want to be stressed but I can’t. You will understand what I am saying when you start working in society.”

7. Drunk
“I think your mom is being cold to me because I don’t have a job anymore.”

8. Cemetery
“My cousin’s mom took care of me when your grandfather died and your grandmother left me. When I miss her, I buy bottles of Soju and go to meet her in the cemetery.”

9. Soju
“I am not an alcoholic. I just feel calm when I drink and it helps me sleep well. That is it. I can control myself.”

10. Hug
“Always feel sorry and grateful. I love your mom the most in the world.”

양경준

[그룹전]
2021 동강 국제 사진제 국제 공모전 전시회
2021 포토그랩스 291 포트폴리오 전시회
2020 휴스턴 사진 박물관. 가상 전시
2020 소니 세계 사진 어워드. 가상 전시
2020 파리 포토 어워드, 렌즈 컬쳐 크리틱스 초이스
2020 포토 이스라엘 국제 사진제

[수상]
2021 영국 왕립 사진 협회 – 후보작
2020 세계 사진 협회 & 자이스 어워드 – 우승
2020 렌즈컬쳐 크리틱스 초이스 – 크리틱스 픽
2020 파리 사진 어워드 – 선외 가작