Jinwoo Lee (Artist Name: Hwon Lee) once considered photography and poetry two different genres. Lee’s photographic work transformed when he prepared to debut as a poet (major achievement in development of a poet in Korea).

         Through the process, Lee’s photography and poetry evolved. They combined into a single form: which he terms “Poem-ography”. Lee’s recently published book of photo essay in Korea, 『When Your Gaze and My Gaze Move Into Opposite Directions』 (2019), is a quintessential Poem-ography. The book portrays stances of objects through anthropomorphizing. 120 images taken from perspectives of objects, and prose written after invite the readers to view the world from the opposite end.

         While living and exhibiting in the United States, Lee actively publishes his work through books, major magazines, and literary publications as well as art festivals in Korea. Curator Mary Stanley selected Lee as one of the note-worthy up and coming photographers under 35 and curated his work in the exhibition <On the Verge> at APG Gallery. Lee also received the honor of the Excellent Book of the Year Award from the Arts Council Association of Korea for his second poetry book, “Let Us Not Be Too Desperate”. In this book, Lee presented poems where images completely and partially replaced texts.

PoetHwon.com