Yunju Shin
Yunju Shin (born 1996 in Busan, South Korea) is a Leipzig based photographer whose work explores childhood trauma and its enduring impact. She is currently enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig, where she studies photography and moving image as a form of self-confession and healing. Through her photographic, written, and drawn narratives, Shin aims to capture raw emotions, offering viewers insights into the resilience of the human spirit. Shin’s work has been exhibited on various platforms in Germany and South Korea.
My work explores personal experiences and events through various media, primarily photography. Using photography as a storytelling tool, I focus on violence, trauma, and vulnerability. I reflect not only on emotions derived from memories but also on my presence within relationships organically formed with others and the social environment, expanding my unstable self-portrait.
The brutality I encountered from a young age is the foundation of my work. Having endured various forms of abuse, I translate these complex and painful emotions into photography and text. My practice often involves metaphorically depicting my emotions by scratching, puncturing, or tearing the photographic film. This process is akin to an outburst of anger.
My work investigates the closeness and exclusivity of home as a place for concealed violence. While home is often perceived as a safe and protective space, it can also be a site of isolation and hidden abuse. Regardless of the distance from home, cruelty persists in various forms, and the trauma continuously affects individuals. Through my work, I expose repetitive and unrelenting nature that defines the essence of violence.
My artistic practice aims to bring my past self, from those times of extensive violence, into the present, rather than structurally explaining violence or enlightening those perpetrators. By documenting my current self through photography, I portray all aspects of my life, including misfortunes and personal confessions. Through those memories, I connect my past and present selves, confront cruelty, and strive against it.