FRIEZE MASTERS

PARK is a pioneering artist who has made significant contributions to the development of photography and feminist art in the lineage of contemporary Korean art. She established a unique artistic world with a challenging attitude, questioning the role and identity of women objectified within the established social system. As a first-generation feminist artist, PARK Youngsook (b.1941) has adopted the social and cultural issues faced by Korean women since the 1960s as her maint hemes. Her work critically reflects on the lives women must endure in a patriarchal society dominated by men, raising awareness of women’s rights by questioning traditions and norms. Through her exceptional visual language, Park played a major role in laying the foundation for Korean feminist art.

The black-and-white photographs by PARK from the 1960s, which are introduced in this Spotlight section, had been largely forgotten until their recent rediscovery. These photographs vividly capture the post-war background and environment of Korea, the modern streets of Seoul, and scenes of life from a feminist perspective, including portraits of women. The works from this period clearly reveal what PARK saw through her camera, what she chose to photograph, and how she captured her subjects. Furthermore, they are remarkable in that they offer an early glimpse of the theme of ‘female portraits,’ which would later become a central focus in her body of work. The photographs PARK captured show the development of her perspective as both an artist and a woman.

PARK Youngsook focused on women and marginalised groups and integrated a deep awareness of gender representation through her work. PARK herself was a ‘modern woman’ of the times, where she started her career in photography as a female photojournalist in the 1960s but not for a long time. During a period when Korean photography was centered on documentary straight photography, and a male-dominated society at work, PARK began her artistic career in 1966 and focused on making a voice for women. In 1975, PARK showcased photographic works commemorating the ‘International Women’s Year’ established by the UN, through an exhibition hosted by the Women’s Association. These works documented the multifaceted realities of women’s lives under the theme of equality, peach and love, capturing their complexities. In 1988, PARK joined the feminist cultural movement group Another Culture which included women scholars from sociology, women’s studies, and anthropology, who opposed patriarchal authoritarianism in Korea. PARK participated in exhibitions such as Uri Botmurel Teuja (1988) (Cross encounter of women, liberated poets and artists)depicting the oppressive realities faced by women and addressing women’s liberation through themes of female consciousness, body politics and self-discovery using photomontage. PARK continued to shape women’s identity with her work in the 1994 exhibition Women, Their Difference and Power. PARK also played a noteworthy role in founding theKorean Women Photographers’ Association in 1998. Through these efforts, PARK cemented her status as a significant figure in the feminist movement and the Korean contemporary photography scene, continuously challenging and redefining the representation and identity of women in art and society. PARK is best known for her Mad Women Project[IMMEDIATE RELEASE]- 3 -(1999-2005), in which she photographed her feminist friends and colleagues performing acts of insanity caused by patriarchal and social oppression, as well as domestic labor. PARK’s many series of works in this project reflect the struggles faced by women in Korea.