Please help make ‘The Korea Project” happen…

I have begun a new body of work called ‘The Korea Project’ exploring the cultural relationship between Korea and Australia and the ways in which Korean migrants establish a sense of belonging in a new country.

My intentions are two-fold in that it tells a personal story but also a common one. I was raised in Australia but my mother is Korean having migrated here with my Australian father in the early 1970s. As a Korean-Australian, I have straddled two worlds, yet in many ways, belonged to neither. I am fascinated by this tension in identity and how the merging of two cultures can shape one’s experiences and perspectives of the world.

As a photographer, I am interested in the way migrant communities adapt to new environments, particularly in western cultures and much of my work explores themes of identity, belonging and community set mostly in the context of the Australian suburbs. I strongly believe that photography can be used as a social tool to inform, educate and inspire audiences about the lives of others. With this in mind, I’m looking forward to getting out of suburbia (at least for a little while!) to travel to Korea and begin this new project. Longer term outcomes will be a full-scale travelling exhibition and a book publication.

However, with a changing editorial market, raising funds to pursue such projects is now more difficult than ever so I have decided to raise the required funds myself and supplement this with personal savings in order to ensure my objectives are achieved. To this end, I have just launched two fundraising campaigns. One via the crowd-sourcing site Indiegogo and the other via the Australia Business Arts Foundation’s (ABAF) Cultural Council. Both campaigns are aimed at raising funds to help offset associated costs such as film, processing, scanning, printing as well as the logistics involved with both photography and travel.

For more information please visit the project website: www.thekoreaproject.com.au where I will post regular updates as the project progresses. A Korean translation will soon be added to the site.

Please also take a moment to check out IndieGoGo and to share it with your friends. All the tools are there. Get perks, make a contribution, or simply follow updates: http://bit.ly/hrTHhf OR if you are an Australian taxpayer you can also make a tax-deductible donation via ABAF: http://bit.ly/dOjS1f (sorry this one is a no-go if you are related to me! Why don’t you Indiegogo instead?)

If enough of us get behind it, we can make ‘The Korea Project’ happen. Please don’t hesitate to forward this email on to your networks, to get in touch if you would like more information or if you wish to discuss any aspect of the project.