Becoming a music composer was my dream as a child. Composing music was what brought me the most joy as a young boy. However, I gave up my dreams; and like many others, I chose a safer and more ordinary path of life.

One day, as I was looking at Ahae’s photographs, I was greatly inspired by his work. Through just one window, he was able to deliver such diversity, capturing the beautiful transformation of his scenery. I came to realize that it was the light that allowed him to express himself through his work. Ahae expressed that he “captures the traces of light.” Therefore, I too tried to capture light inside my very own camera. I am not capturing the objects but the light itself. No matter how many countless photographs I took of the same object, every photograph would turn out to be nonetheless unique. Light had shown me its diverse and intricate range of characteristics.

I never know the exact outcome of my shot. And this particular uncertainty makes the whole work so interesting. My greatest joy lies in the expectation of the unexpected outcome. There is no perfect shot, but there is always perfect beauty and the uniqueness of the light by itself. The combination of the light, the light angle, the object and the wind allow the camera to capture the light in its various colors and tracks. These parameters lead the light into the transformation of various colors and forms as well. The outcome is always totally different from what the eye sees. There is nothing I can create by my own. This phenomenon simply happens and is always there.

I myself understand art of photography  as a discovery of something which is already there. There is nothing new we create, but rather we see things with different eyes. And it was the eyes of that very camera that enabled me to discover and to see things in a different way.

At all times this light surrounds us, but we never take notice of it with our eyes. But now, I am able to experience and enjoy the beauty of light through my camera as much as I can, to my pleasure, similar to the joy that once overflowed when music had touched my young musician’s heart.

Jhan Park (b. 1967)

Düsseldorf, Germany