Old Meets New (2025)

Photos just don't do it justice. For Western eyes, there is no easy way to capture the emotional impact of the juxtaposition of traditional Korean neighborhoods like this one in Gwangju straining to hang on in the shadow of contemporary high rise buildings. Every time I return to Korea, more of these neighborhoods are lost to increasing development and modernization. I cannot imagine a better metaphor for the modern history of Asian countries like Korea, so steeped in tradition, yet plunging forward into the future at a breakneck pace.

Mixed media lends itself to telling more of the story than a simple photograph. In this piece, I combined traditional Korean Hanji paper with other types of papers and painted over the surface with acrylic. I hope that this approach leads the viewer to linger, considering the layers and strange, yet natural juxtapositions that mimic those in the cityscape itself. If you have never had the opportunity to encounter such a view personally, I hope I've been able to capture some of the impact I felt when I first stepped out on a Gwangju gallery rooftop and snapped the reference photo for this piece.

The Korean landscape looks nothing like what my father-in-law encountered during the Korean war 75 years ago. When my daughter first introduced him to her future Korean husband, they reminisced about the desolation out of which South Korea rose to become one of the leading economies and cultural influencers of the 21st century. But before that could happen, hundreds of students lost their lives in the May 1980 Gwangju uprising. As I looked out over this scene, I could imagine young people like my own kids hiding in similar tiny back alleys as government soldiers sought to tamp down their demonstrations for democracy in the face of an oppressive dictatorship.

Flash forward 45 years and now my granddaughter is growing up in one of those high rise buildings, raised from the rubble of traditional architecture. I know I can't really do it justice, but I hope this image and my story here paints some new impressions of this far-away land that so many in my country struggle to envision, let alone understand. I also hope I've inspired you to consider a trip of your own, to see such things for yourself someday. This is how we best understand our world--not from news stories, movies or music videos, but from personal encounters, questions and connections.