Jardin d’enfance or « Garden of Childhood » is an ongoing photo series, showcasing the Korean residential neighbourhood I have been living in for almost a year now. When I first arrived, I was struck by the sort of isolation that nature and urban engineering made possible. To this day it still feels like living in a cocoon, in a safe and warm bubble, outside of the real world’s worries. I quickly couldn’t help but think that despite the country’s rigid education system, growing up here as a young child must be like paradise. A safe heaven; quiet and surrounded by nature, far from the busy cities while still being lively and with modern South Korean infrastructure and conveniency (specifically 24hrs-open ice cream shops).
As I was trying to become a better street-photographer, being a 45-minute subway ride away from all the action of Korea’s 3rd largest city’s center was starting to get frustrating. I always had to plan ahead and it felt like I lost so much time in commuting. Inevitably I started photographing my small and quiet neighbourhood while walking to the subway station, and after a few months, what began to feel like a fatality became a source of inspiration, and I could see a repeating pattern of refreshing and peaceful pictures that had my small neighbourhood’s environment as a common thread. I decided to pull on that thread, a thread slightly different than street photography; Koreans are already quite sensitive about their pictures being taken, and their « nunchi » makes almost EVERYONE notice the camera meters before I even get close. At a busy market or in packed alleyways, discretion can be managed, but in a quiet empty residential neighbourhood, the task is a lot harder. That’s why I had to find turnabouts, and chose not to show almost no recognisable faces.
I want people to feel what it’s like to roam in this neighbourhood as a child. A child who doesn’t pay attention to every detail, who gets attracted by what’s pretty and intriguing. Through this point of view I hope we can all relate about our busy lives full of worries and adult problems.