Woojung Park

Woojung Park is a South Korean artist born in 1972. Until the end of his military service, he lived in Busan, the largest harbor in South Korea. After graduating in Fine Arts from Valencia, Spain, Park relocated to Paris in 1996 to concentrate on film writing and philosophy.

Apart from the language, Park’s understanding of South Korean history, values and traditions are vague and distant. On the return to his homeland, the photographer experienced the ever increasing shift between a traditional and modernist culture. A country where one year is enough to reshape an entire rural and traditional landscape. With fresh eye towards his homeland, the photography of Park depicts this contrast.

Storm in the Garden of Eden is the series where the artist finds his roots. On the night of September 2nd 2010, Typhoon Kompasu hit South Korea. A few days earlier, in a country with a significant Christian population, the opening celebrations of The Bible Expo took place in the Songdo business center. The next day, Park walked through the ruins left by the typhoon. A contemporary art exhibition? An abandoned fairground? Secondary contrasts are revealed in the photographs by the juxtaposition of the sunny and tranquil landscape in the wake of the natural disaster and the religious figures symbolizing the creation of nature and humanity.

Woojung Park captures the short and violent moment when the strength and vehemence of nature reclaims the urban environment.