Under the daily hum of academic pressures, plastic surgery advertisements, and fast food chains, a growing subculture of cosplay has taken root on the outskirts of Gangnam, South Korea. Meeting usually one weekend every month at convention centers in Yangjae or Hangyeoul, Korean youth have seemingly found a way to escape the pressures of societal perfection by transforming into fictional characters they admire.
They mostly meet and prepare in metro stations closest to the chosen venue, taking them over almost completely in a sea of cosmetic boxes and costumes. Some spend hours applying make-up there, even going as far as hiring make-up artists to help them become anime princesses. Others simply wear used uniforms found in military surplus stores to play war with their friends. Cross-dressing is also extremely popular. For these few hours each month, they are welcomed into a community where they can escape into fantasy.
But can escape be fully realized in a society that places such a high value in personal appearance and consumerism? In this urban playground where fantasy lives are acted upon, they must still contended with the reality of Korean hierarchical values. Onlookers still see them amidst a landscape saturated in all manner of advertisements. With so much product placement imposing itself upon the landscape, is their escape not a product itself?
The aim of my work is to examine how these subjects wish to be perceived, while being in an environment that they cannot change or remove. I use multiple exposures as a technique to transpose subject and environment together. The resulting portraiture is one merged between fantasy and reality: A Cos’ality Of Play.
They mostly meet and prepare in metro stations closest to the chosen venue, taking them over almost completely in a sea of cosmetic boxes and costumes. Some spend hours applying make-up there, even going as far as hiring make-up artists to help them become anime princesses. Others simply wear used uniforms found in military surplus stores to play war with their friends. Cross-dressing is also extremely popular. For these few hours each month, they are welcomed into a community where they can escape into fantasy.
But can escape be fully realized in a society that places such a high value in personal appearance and consumerism? In this urban playground where fantasy lives are acted upon, they must still contended with the reality of Korean hierarchical values. Onlookers still see them amidst a landscape saturated in all manner of advertisements. With so much product placement imposing itself upon the landscape, is their escape not a product itself?
The aim of my work is to examine how these subjects wish to be perceived, while being in an environment that they cannot change or remove. I use multiple exposures as a technique to transpose subject and environment together. The resulting portraiture is one merged between fantasy and reality: A Cos’ality Of Play.
Upon A Star
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Soldiers Of Fortune
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A Sight For
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Big Sale
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A Hand In
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Off The Wall
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Happy Birthday 1,600
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Fighting Fits
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Strike A
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Eyes Four Use
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