Hyun-Jin Kwak

'Girls In Uniform' develops as a long-term work in progress. The starting point is the encounter between the Far-Eastern origins of Korean photography and the Western world. The uniform – as repressive as it is protective – which the project takes its name from is a “second skin”, a metaphor of the transition between childhood and adulthood. The metaphor expands and recomposes itself in a study of the past, as an understanding of the present.
The choice of locations for the shots plays a crucial role: all the photographs are taken in remote and solitary places or inside abandoned buildings – heterotopias representing parallel worlds.
In Reggio Emilia, the photos were taken inside the City Museum, the former Psychiatric Hospital, the Valli Theatre, the Cloisters of the Basilica della Ghiara, the Indoor Market before it was dismantled and in isolated spots in Reggio Emilia’s surrounding countryside.

Hyun-Jin Kwak is a Korean photographer. From 1994 to 1998 she attended Hong-Ik University in Seoul; in 2005 she graduated from the University of Art, Crafts and Design in Stockholm. Between 2005 and 2006 she attended the postgraduate programme at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki. She currently lives and works in Stockholm. After receiving a special mention for The Core of Industry international award, held as part of the 2008 Fotografia Europea festival, she has again chosen Reggio Emilia as the setting for a number of shots which have made a valuable contribution to her latest project entitled “Girls In Uniform”.