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Jackson Ellis documented Seoul's streets from 2001-2005.
He has worked primarily within the discipline of 'street
photography', a style of photography which seeks, above all, to search for moments of significance, as they play out, on the street.
The streets of Seoul, provide a rich and layered tapestry of
different cultural influences, architecture styles, and
most of all, people.
Despite a general dislike of informal photography, Korean
subjects, on the streets, are dynamic and fascinating. Their daily activity reveals a complexity and intricacy, inherent in Korean culture.
Ellis has also worked in a similar fashion, on the streets of
Sydney, Australia; Dublin, Ireland; Paris, and New York city.
However, above all, his experience in Seoul has been of the greatest personal significance.
The medium of photography has been a means by which to explore and better understand Korean culture, and as a way to reach out to people, in a way beyond words and language.
Fragments represents a relatively small slice of Ellis' images from Seoul, but they are ones which fit together to relate a particular 'tale', otherwise unknown; until Ellis and his partner, Younghee Choi began the task of editing the larger body of work.
From the artist's perspective, Fragments seeks to unearth a universal sense of being, which is experienced when living in the modern metropolis.
There are however, multiple possible readings of the images, in connection with Ellis' chosen caption.
The images aspire to transcend notions of nationality and normal racial differentiation. They propose that a sensation of fragmentation is a universal experience, to those residing in the contemporary industrialised nations, and in our present political climate.
While the images operate as a whole, to form a collective story, each image should also be viewed in its own right.
Ellis has endeavoured, through the images, to evoke a sense of narrative; to eclipse the borders of the images; to explore our vulnerabilities; in a pursual of common ground.
In addition to this show, Ellis has been publishing work on the Internet for four years. Within the previous year, he has experimented with the 'photoblog' format.
At DOFK (daily observations from Korea), one can view works going back through time, on a daily basis, for the last year.
During his stay in Korea, he co-produced a film (Itaewon),
which showcased at the New York Film & Video festival. He has also exhibited his photography, from base-point Seoul: in New York, Sydney and Mumbai.
Having relocated with his family to Australia, Ellis has continued to publish his Seoul images and texts; as well as to present images of Melbourne, from Korea's Pacific neighbour.
You may follow these future developments from his continually evolving web project, Retiform.
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