Masters of Photography Vol. 13 – Australians is now available and we are already on to the next one. This time, Fashion Industry Broadcast goes global. From Seoul to Berlin, “Masters of Photography Vol. 52 – Next Gen” is a carefully-curated selection of emerging artists who we think might be the next big thing. This art book will feature an amazing selection of their work, as well as thought-provoking interviews.
Every Monday,we will introduce you to one of these new talents. Today, we are flying away to Seoul, South Korea for an exclusive interview with Hasisi Park.
How would you describe your style?
Quiet, warm and unique.
How and when did you decide to become a professional photographer?
In 2008, when I decided not to go back to a film school in London, I started to take up photography as a job.
Where do you find inspiration?
In nature, smells, colours and people.
Who are your favourite photographers of all time and why are they so special to you?
I admire Helmut Newton’s classic humour. My dad used to have his books when I was young.
This art book features photographers from the entire world and each of them has a very specific identity. How do you think your geographic location affects your work?
There must be a certain cultural ideology I’ve been affected by in Korea and it surely comes out in my pictures without trying, but I wouldn’t know what it is.
If you could move to any city in the world, where would you like to live and work as a photographer?
I would like to move somewhere warm and close to nature and fly over for work.
What are you five dream locations to shoot?
Anywhere I have not shot yet.
How would you describe the photography industry in your country? What are the chances for a young artist to ‘make it’ and become global?
I think the photography industry in Seoul isn’t really different from anywhere else. There is a mainstream industry and there are others working outside of it. It seems that self-advertising is very important to young artists these days. Also making one’s own crew with other artists such as musicians, filmmakers and designers and working as a whole team seems like a new trend.
As a young photographer, you have been part of a big switch in the industry. Indeed, photography today is much more democratised than a few decades ago. Everyone can have access to retouching programs, publishing sites and good cameras. What are your thoughts on the evolution of the industry and the impact it has on your work?
I should focus more on how to see the world. Making my work deeper is what I am interested in and it could make a difference.
A lot of young photographers got discovered thanks to their Tumblr or Instagram account. What is your relationship with social media platforms?
I am more a part of the Flickr generation. But yes, those have been very good platforms.
Post manipulation has long been debated, especially in commercial and fashion photography. How much do you retouch your images and what is your opinion on the whole body image debate?
I still mostly work with film, even for commercial works. Therefore retouching has become indispensable for a lot of reasons. From cleaning dust to experimenting with negatives, post process sometimes creates totally new images. I think defining whether it’s right or not is meaningless.