The Orange Morning

September 2020 / Sony A7 III

Back Home

May 2020 / iPhone 11 Pro

Artist’s Statement

After 6 months of being stuck in the US, my husband and I finally received temporary green cards allowing us to leave the border. We had been living in quarantine, grappling with the haunting feelings of being nowhere. While physically confined in America, there was nothing American about our life, with no traces of the outside world.

It took us 11 hours to fly back home, a short amount of time compared to the months we had spent in anxiety and frustration. When we got home there was no one. Our family had already left to abide by the strict quarantine rules set by the Korean government. It felt great to be back, maybe for an hour, then I realized that nothing much was different. I was still looking out the window into the distance, feeling lost and confused. The view through the window was slightly different — louder traffic noise, uglier buildings, foggier weather, and busier pedestrians. “Back Home” documents the disoriented feelings of being back home, but not really being home.

Colma, the City of Death

October 2020 / iPhone 6