[Unstagram] Two Dimensions of Time in a Photograph

Holding an Old Photo, I Took Another Picture in the Same Place
I Saw the Captured Moment and the Time Flowing Over It

There was a time when taking a single photo alone with a loved one held great significance. While photos were taken during important moments in life, the act of taking a photo itself often became a significant moment in life. Printing, sharing, and preserving these hard-earned photos was a special ritual, and sometimes the photo was the only proof that they had been together.

A couple who stopped by Naejangsa Temple on their honeymoon 36 years ago took a photo in front of the snow-covered Daeungjeon Hall. The mountains and rivers felt familiar, the temple had changed, and the time held in their hands was light. Naejangsa, Jeongeup, Jeonbuk, 1976 / 2012. ⓒHeo Young-han

Long ago, I once went around searching for the places where couples had taken photos, carrying those hard-to-find pictures. Holding the photo in my left hand and a camera in my right, I took pictures of the photo alongside the current surroundings. There was no regret that everything didn’t perfectly match. Between what remained the same and what had changed, a moment from the past was held in my hand. In some photos, current couples passed by next to the lovers from 30 years ago.

In one photo, there are lovers from 30 years ago and lovers of today. Haeundae, Busan, 1982 / 2012

In memory, the gap of years disappears and events from various points in time occur simultaneously. Time is compressed, and space and events are edited. The weight of what is revealed after a certain period of learning words and knowledge is different. As time accumulates, photos add new meanings.

Mudeungsan Mountain, Gwangju, 1983 / 2012

The photos held in hand showed the time of others. While I was too busy managing my own time to look around, the years of others that had passed were now looking back at me. Time returns the emotional resonance of regret and sighs as compensation for what it has taken away.

I wondered what time and place those who appeared in the photo were at. Ojukheon, Gangneung, 1984 / 2012

The main hall of the temple in the photo was destroyed by fire and rebuilt. The exact same photo can never be taken again. Although it is said that a photo becomes the past the moment it is taken, I thought that this is not something to lament. Time passes over the tangible photo, memories are layered on it, and a new frame is created.

Gyeongnam Geoje, 1987 / 2012

The outside of a photo is both the present and the memory of that moment recalled at the present time. Therefore, when we look at photos, we do not focus on a person’s chronology but can face a moment in the past as an independent entity. We can take a step back and look at the time that has passed.

Yongin Natural Farm, 1992 / Everland, 2012

The facts within the photo and the memories it evokes constantly change and disappear on the river of time. The time of a photo exists both inside and outside the photo.

Gangneung Gyeongpodae, 1977 / 2012