Sketches - February 2021 | Seoul Photographer

I've recently been thinking about what it means to be brave as an artist (I'm not too fond of the pretentiousness of this term, but oh well). I've been asking a lot of questions on this topic—mostly quiet conversations with myself. I respect your time, so I'll let you know in advance that I haven't arrived at a conclusion yet.

I tried reflecting on my creative process as a photographer, and I'm aware there are far more mechanisms at work at any given moment, so documenting it has proved to be a challenging task. How difficult, you ask? Imagine asking yourself questions like, "Why do I choose to wear that one sweater at home instead of others? Why do I decide to take this way to work when many other routes don't impact time or effort, either? Why do I arrange my desktop in a particular manner, or why am I indifferent to it?"

It seems ridiculous and possibly unnecessary to wonder about these things, but before you allow yourself to fall victim to availability bias and answer the first and easiest thing that comes to mind, think about idiosyncrasies a bit longer. They give insight into who we are and perhaps how we've come to be. It is part of that relationship-building thing. You know, the one we're trying to have with ourselves.

Coming back to the question of bravery. I tried asking this question by creating photographs that required me to dig deeper, by making photographs I don't usually make. This required me to be more aware of my photographic idiosyncrasies and challenge them.

Are you brave?