Photoset
June 07, 2013

May 2, 2013.  Bergen -> Halsnøy island 

Waken up to a beautiful sunny weather… I left my luggages at the hotel and went around the city little bit. After having a fish soup and king crab sandwich, my last stop was at the antique shop that I had my eyes on the night before. I ended up getting some snap shots of vernacular photography from the 40s and 60s. Luckily I was not aware of exchange rates between dollars and Norwegian Krone yet. It would have been foolish to compare anyway because of such difference in monetary values. 

I went to the boat terminal in Bergen where I was supposed to take a boat at 4:05pm to Leirvik in Stord. Inside the boat, I saw a woman keep looking back from her seat to check if I was coming. I knew she would be the French artist from Paris whom I will spend 3 weeks together at the residency. We greeted to each other and I was introduced to her Korean husband Yisang Shin and their 5-year-old daughter Lou who was holding a purple balloon. 

They told me that in Norway, there is barely any thief so we can leave all our luggages in the luggage section of the boat including our valuables such as computers and cameras inside of the luggage. After some minutes passed, I was curious to go to the top of the boat. It was very windy but I was able to breath fresh air and see the landscapes of the seaside. When I came back to my seat, I noticed the passenger next to me was knitting. 

Arriving in Leirvik at 6:20pm, we were joined by the Halsnøy Kloster’s artist-in-residency correspondents Øyvind Hjelmen (Artistic Project Manager) and Helén Petersen (Project Coordinator). We transferred to another boat to Ranavik which took 15 minutes. We finally arrived in the island of Halsnøy! 

From there, we got on to Øyvind’s car and within few minutes, we arrived at the Halsnøy Kloster. First we went to the supermarket for grocery shopping. After Øyvind and Helén showed us around. It was really small island. Everybody knows everybody. Any outside people can be noticed very quickly. 

We went back to the Halsnøy Kloster. The house we stayed was a farmer’s house which was built with the stones from the ruins of the Halsnøy Kloster. Helén made a fish soup. We had a box of red wine. We talked. The light didn’t come down until 10 or 11 pm. I was happy to finally settled in one place. For next 3 weeks. 

Photoset
June 02, 2013

May 1, 2013. Bergen. 

From the Bergen airport, I took a shuttle bus to the center of the town. It was raining, which later turned into hail and hard rain when I arrived at the hotel. Then the sun came out for little bit. Then rained again.

Rain in Bergen is like eating a breakfast. Saying hello to people. Rain greets people almost everyday. I had to buy whole new rain gears in Bergen in preparation to photograph in the rain. It was cold like winter weather. 

Coldness and rain pretty much stayed with me throughout the residency period in Norway. 

Pictures are from the shuttle bus to Bergen city center and within the city center. Last two pictures are from the antique stores. 

Photoset
May 31, 2013

April 30, 2013, 4:40pm, Newark Airport -> May 1, 2013, 6:55am, Frankfurt Airport 

Up in the air, on the way to the Artist Residency in Norway.

I was curious about the residency place. What kind of place that would be. I purposely didn’t search images on the web. I wanted the place to unfold in front of me without any preconceived ideas. I enjoyed the mystery of the place that was waiting for my arrival. 

The bright sun rose when the airplane was approaching near Frankfurt Airport. Once landed there, however it was gloomy weather. 

Photoset
May 31, 2013

The island of Halsnøy is one of the tens and thousands of islands on the west coast of Norway. It can be reached by 2 1/2 hour boat ride from Bergen, a thriving port city in the west of Norway. Halsnøy has about 38 square km of land and little more than 2000 inhabitants. 

Halsnøy Kloster was built in 12th century and became one of the richest and the most powerful monasteries in Norway. It got dissolved during the reformation in the 16th century and building stones were used for construction of local houses. The estate was owned by a farm family for a couple hundred years until 1956 when the Sunnhordland Museum purchased the site and conserved the ruins and buildings. 

The main house was built by the farm family, which used stones from the original monastery building. Now the farm house is a folk museum, a branch of Sunnhordland Museum.

The museum initiated Artist in Residency Program at the Halsnøy Kloster 3 years ago, inviting artists from all around the world through a selection process at the Arles Photo Festival portfolio review given by Øyvind Hjelmen, an accomplished photographer from Stord, Norway and Helén Petersen of the Sunnhordland Museum. 

Six artists were selected for this year’s A-I-R program which marks 850-year anniversary of the monastery. Selected artists are invited to stay in May or September. 

I participated in the A-I-R program with Juliette Agnel from Paris, France from May 3rd to May 23rd. 

Accompanied pictures: 

First picture: Aerial view of the place

Second picture:The farm house and the ruins seen from the back side of the house. Three beach trees in the middle. 

Text
May 31, 2013

Artist Residency at the Halsnøy Kloster

I participated in the Artist Residency program at the Halsnøy Kloster in Norway from May 3rd to May 23rd. Twenty one days in the small island of Halsnøy gave me a turning point in my work.

At first I thought to make a decent body of work but I soon realized that the residency was about trying new things and not to be afraid of having doubts and failures.

I decide to share some of my residency experience here to remember and to remind myself the special time spent at the Halsnøy Kloster. 

Photo
July 21, 2012
1 note
Salton Sea, California, April 2012  In the area of Salton Sea, I was attracted to the name of this town: Bombay Beach. It sounded exotic and strange. Someone at the visitor center told me not to stay there at night. During the hey days, it attracted a lot of vacationers but now there are a lot of vacant buildings and population just below 300. When I arrived there in the middle of dry hot sunny day, there were occasional visitors around the town but once the sun came down, only few residents were driving to home. Despite the feeling of deserted movie set of some sort, the sky was clear and stars shined brilliantly. The night presented different mood. Scary and secretive. 

Salton Sea, California, April 2012 

In the area of Salton Sea, I was attracted to the name of this town: Bombay Beach. It sounded exotic and strange. Someone at the visitor center told me not to stay there at night. During the hey days, it attracted a lot of vacationers but now there are a lot of vacant buildings and population just below 300. When I arrived there in the middle of dry hot sunny day, there were occasional visitors around the town but once the sun came down, only few residents were driving to home. Despite the feeling of deserted movie set of some sort, the sky was clear and stars shined brilliantly. The night presented different mood. Scary and secretive. 

Tags: California night beach minny lee bombay beach

Photo
July 08, 2012
1 note
Cross the river from the center of the town portrays another world within the town of Arles. Projection of Nuit de l’Année took place here as a part of Les Recontres d’Arles Photographie. On the way there, in this house, with shadow of lights, a woman peeking out, it was perfect. Robert Adams’s book “Summer Nights, Walking” came to my mind. 

Cross the river from the center of the town portrays another world within the town of Arles. Projection of Nuit de l’Année took place here as a part of Les Recontres d’Arles Photographie.

On the way there, in this house, with shadow of lights, a woman peeking out, it was perfect. Robert Adams’s book “Summer Nights, Walking” came to my mind. 

Photo
April 09, 2012
From the sky April 8, 2012 From the sky, human existence was barely recognizable yet we control the earth, flying all over the world, roads and bridges connecting everywhere, and there I was as any others on the airplane, stuck in my seat — about 12 square inch — reading, writing, eating, sleeping, and looking out. I am with fifty others yet totally alone in self-made confinement of space. 

From the sky

April 8, 2012

From the sky, human existence was barely recognizable yet we control the earth, flying all over the world, roads and bridges connecting everywhere, and there I was as any others on the airplane, stuck in my seat — about 12 square inch — reading, writing, eating, sleeping, and looking out. I am with fifty others yet totally alone in self-made confinement of space. 

Photo
April 08, 2012
2 notes
Salton Sea, CA April 7, 2012 A sea made accidentally by human being’s modification of nature and nature’s own uncontrollable force sits rather peacefully below sea level. There is no way of exiting water from here. Water flows in but doesn’t flow out which increases level of sodium in the sea. Only left kind of fish is Tilapia. The seashore is like a cemetery to fishes who came in here as if following a fateful path of life. Skulls and dried out bodies lay as if they are part of the land. Smells awful as one approaches to the sea. When the sun came down and the world became more monotonous and quiet from daily noise, the Salton Sea exhibited its quiet charm. Despite the complex history, for the moment, I paid respect to the resilience of nature.

Salton Sea, CA
April 7, 2012

A sea made accidentally by human being’s modification of nature and nature’s own uncontrollable force sits rather peacefully below sea level. There is no way of exiting water from here. Water flows in but doesn’t flow out which increases level of sodium in the sea. Only left kind of fish is Tilapia.

The seashore is like a cemetery to fishes who came in here as if following a fateful path of life. Skulls and dried out bodies lay as if they are part of the land. Smells awful as one approaches to the sea.

When the sun came down and the world became more monotonous and quiet from daily noise, the Salton Sea exhibited its quiet charm. Despite the complex history, for the moment, I paid respect to the resilience of nature.

Photo
April 08, 2012
1 note
Joshua Tree Park, CA April 5, 2012 I only got to see glimpse of the place but it surely exhibited its grand scale and somewhat mysterious stories hidden all over. More to explore next time with days of staying. As I was leaving the place, large and clear moon came out. Never seen such a clear moon.

Joshua Tree Park, CA
April 5, 2012

I only got to see glimpse of the place but it surely exhibited its grand scale and somewhat mysterious stories hidden all over. More to explore next time with days of staying. As I was leaving the place, large and clear moon came out. Never seen such a clear moon.