WHAT WE ARE HIDING UNDER OUR CLOTHING
“It’s all the same and different, but the same.”
I have been working as a wedding photographer for 16 years, capturing the happiest and most beautiful moments of my clients. Sometimes, those moments were not as happy as they seemed, and some clients wanted to look more beautiful through Photoshop. It didn’t matter how they looked or felt in front of the camera; my role was to create and record scenes that appeared happier and more beautiful than reality.
As I looked at the thousands of portraits stored on albums and hard disks, I found myself stepping outside the pursuit of external beauty. The bonds with my clients and the photos we created were precious, but they often felt superficial. For the past 20 years, I have followed what my clients wanted, but now I wish to capture what I want to see in the next chapter of my life.
While studying for my MA in Photography at Goldsmiths, I spent much time reflecting on myself—where I came from and where I am heading. Through that process, my desire to explore the essence of human existence grew stronger. What does it mean to be human, and where does our identity truly reside? These are the questions I seek to pursue through photography.
Photography, which started as a hobby in high school, became my major in college and eventually led me to open the studio of my dreams. This passion continued as I met my wife, had children, and embraced my faith. Over the past 20 years, I have captured many people on camera, but I have never truly captured the essence of humanity. To me, there is no subject more fascinating than human beings—the measure of all things, the rulers of nature, and the ones who sustain the world’s balance through faith and good deeds. My goal is to spend the rest of my life exploring humanity through my lens.
The experiences and experimental methods I’ve gathered over the years are no longer just technical skills, but artistic tools that shape how I see the world. Within the frame I create, people may reveal their true selves or hide parts of who they are. They bring with them emotions shaped by circumstances, beliefs, and the weight of daily life. In these moments, joy and sorrow, tenderness and conflict, goodness and failure all surface in their rawest forms.
As a photographer, I begin by building a space where such encounters can unfold, but I end as an observer—watching, listening, and recording the humanity that emerges. My mission is to use photography to create spaces that invite reflection, where viewers may pause, connect, and perhaps glimpse something of themselves in the lives of others. Through these images, I want to ask again and again: what does it truly mean to be human?