Lee Jong Man

Lee Jong Man presents series Providence and Forest, exploring divine providence through landscapes of nature such as forests, mountains, and the sea. He captures quiet forests shrouded in dawn mist and spaces void of human traces on black-and-white film, evoking a meditative sensibility reminiscent of traditional Korean ink paintings, as the mist blurs the outlines of trees. Withered stalks, frozen rivers, dry branches revealed on snow, and trees swaying in the wind invite contemplation on the anguish of life and the sublimity of death as revealed in nature, while also metaphorizing the cycles and vitality of life. Suddenly emerging through the mist, the trees stand as resilient life forms that sustain us and as transcendental beings. The broken, tangled, and intertwined forms of nature recall the enduring scars of Korean history and the layers of personal sorrow embedded within. Before his photographs, viewers are invited to meditate on the providence of the forest and nature, where death is seamlessly linked to rebirth.