A Closer Look... Yokko Seungyoun 요꼬승연
#2, 2010 by Yokko Seungyoun 요꼬승연
Elegant and enigmatic, the photography of Yokko Seungyoun 요꼬승연 celebrates the tender moments shared, moments between lovers. In his series 14 Memories, the viewer is left with an after-image, a sensuous insight into the nostalgia of faded memories.
The act of photographing a lover, capturing one’s lover nude, one’s lover in sleeping and in waking, has been a central theme in some of photography’s greatest images. Iconic 20th century photographers such as Nan Goldin, Robert Mapplethorpe and Jacques Henri Lartigue all celebrated the sensuality of the bodies dearest to them, shooting a glimpse into the loving moments of their inner lives. As International Center of Photography Curator, Pauline Vermare wrote: ‘For some, photographing intimate subjects is a life instinct, for others it is more of a death wish. […] It is in family albums, tinged, as they are, with tenderness and the melancholy of passing time that intimacy is revealed to the full.’
#2, 2012 by Yokko Seungyoun 요꼬승연
Born in 1977, South Korean photographer Yokko Seungyoun 요꼬승연 records and charts his time with past lovers or 인연(in-yeon). A unique concept used in Korean culture, the concept of in-yeon differs from ideas of fatality, bondage or destiny popularly ascribed to romantic love. Instead, in-yeon evokes a sense of the ‘meant-to-be’ celebrating the unique and affirming bond crafted between romantic lovers. His series 14 Memories (2002-2018) collects shared moments with fourteen lovers over a period of sixteen years. Yokko’s work celebrates the altering potential of this bond, using his images to record and remember these moments of shared connection.
Describing the popularity of the nude within contemporary art, Jean-Luc Nancy writes ‘The nude is above all presence, Presence exposed to the look of others.’ To pose nude is to offer yourself to the gaze of another, a gesture of vulnerability, of trust between the photographer and the sitter. Yokko celebrates the beauty of this intimacy within this work, evoking the parallels between the act of portraiture and the uncovering bond between lovers.
#36, 2010 by Yokko Seungyoun 요꼬승연
In the piece 36 from the series 14 Memories, the hypnotic quality of Yokko’s work is particularly striking. Shot in 2010 using the historic, but technically challenging medium of pinhole photography, the image depicts a nude woman sitting in a window frame, her body obscured by the beams of sunlight entering the room. The image is at once seductive and soothing, the warm light and harmonious colours evoking the ease and comfort shared between two lovers. While cherishing these intimate moments, 36 also explores the fragmentary and fleeting nature of memory. The body of the sitter remains set apart from us, veiled from view through the hazy blur of the long exposure. Amy Sherlock writes ‘exposure is a form of contact but also a means of spacing,’ as in other pieces like 09 and 07, Yokko’s work invites the viewer into the realm of the intimate, while holding them at a tantalising distance.
These memories offer us a glimpse into these tender moments, capturing the eroticism and joie de vivre of past loves. Artfully arranged, the series radiates the beauty of visual storytelling.
Article by Ren Ewart (Elliott Gallery) July 2021
All works are available for purchase at Elliott Gallery. A selection is available for purchase through the online Print Store. Click the below button to view the Print Store.