Women: Society: News: Hankyoreh

Courtesy of Artist Jung Ji-Hyun

A blank gaze looking out of the window, hands stroking the stomach while watching TV, her husband’s feet look cold, a wedding photo exquisitely placed in one corner of the room, a body that is getting bigger day by day, walking difficult to breathe, inside a mess behind an expressionless face… . The photo exhibition’I decided to give birth’ by photographer Ji-Hyun Jung (47), who took the image of a full-term pregnant woman over 10 years, was held at the Gallery Photo Gallery in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. The 11 photos that realistically captured the appearance of an ordinary pregnant woman at home were taken by Jung from 2008 to 2020. The same subject consciousness is revealed in that the filming timing is varied, but the’social coercion’ against pregnant women has not changed. Artist Jung, who met at the gallery on the 3rd, said, “I took my first filming in 2008 in search of pregnant people, even acquaintances of acquaintances. All the protagonists in the photo were full-term after 8 months of pregnancy. He said he was too heavy and struggling.” The reason why Jung started filming with the theme of’Pregnant Women in the House’ is the craze for taking full-term photos of pregnant women, which has been popular since the 2000s. Artist Jung said, “It is fashionable for pregnant women to shoot beautifully in the studio, but the studio shots (such as wearing dresses and putting flowers in their hair) were not realistic. I was very hard at term, but I was wondering how to do that.” The woman she met at her first filming in 2008 said she wanted to go out as soon as possible because she could hardly go outside the house after pregnancy. It is said that the daily routine of this woman after pregnancy was mostly to bring meals to her mother-in-law who lives upstairs. This is the picture of a woman with a prenatal fairy tale in the corner of the room, looking out of the window full of sunshine and patting her belly. Among the works, there is a character who looks at TV home shopping with a blank gaze, and this woman is a married migrant woman. Writer Jung said, “I came to Korea and didn’t speak, but I was married and had a baby. In home shopping, I was selling cutlass, but I filmed a situation where I couldn’t read.”

Artist Ji-Hyun Ji-Hyun, who opened the photo exhibition’I decided to give birth’ at Gallery Photography in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. Reporter Kim Mi-hyang

Most of the works on the exhibition were directed by Jung, who visited the pregnant woman, listened to the situation, and directed it according to reality. For example, there is a picture of her husband sitting at the table in front of the sink. The main character’s husband works on a business day at work. It is said that he was in a situation where he was drinking and leaving work only at midnight. To express this in photographs, Jung visited the house at 12 pm when her husband left work and filmed this scene. It revealed the situation of a wife who is suffering from pregnancy and a husband who cannot become an emotional supporter. How was the person in the picture unearthed? It is said that the experiences of Jung, who had two children, were able to build a consensus with pregnant women. Jung explained the difficult process of recruitment. “When I first started working, I tried to meet a pregnant woman by leaving a message on a bulletin board or a mom cafe on a famous obstetrics and gynecology website, but no one responded. I found my acquaintances, persuaded them, and talked for two or three hours together, and they responded to taking pictures of the landscape or face of the house.” Initially, these pictures were’Miyoung, Hyunjoo, Eunjung and… It was once released to the world as a photo exhibition titled’. The photo exhibition was held after the three most popular female names at that time, focusing on the fact that the women in the photo were born in the late 1970s. Last year, gallery photography director Ahn Sun-young re-viewed the portfolio of these photos, and suggested to open a second photo exhibition with recent works. The title of the photo exhibition’I decided to give birth’ was also suggested by Director Ahn. This title pinpoints the reality that giving birth to children is bound to be accompanied by a tremendous determination. Writer Jung said, “I think the words that I have decided to give birth can throw a lot of messages into this society. As the birth rate has fallen to the bottom, the environment in which the born children will meet is not good enough to decide to give birth. An acquaintance in her mid-30s decided not to give birth,” he said. Last January, the post-pregnancy and childbirth information center in Seoul was controversial about how to do things at the end of pregnancy, such as ‘packing side dishes for your husband and family’, ‘Correct your anxiety with a cross-stitch’ . Writer Jung said, “I laughed at home with my family because it was absurd whether it was the Joseon Dynasty or not while watching the news. I started this filming with the intention of not doing anything that society or others force on a pregnant woman anymore. Just because you are pregnant, you don’t have to obey the coercion of society. My choice, my body is the most precious.” He said, “During pregnancy, I keep asking to listen to classical music, but I was much happier to listen to my favorite singer Lee Seung-hwan and watch the music video of Jang Kook-young.” “After having a child and raising a child, the child is happy when the mother is happy. When I get depressed, you all get sick, which is what I often say to my children at home.” Jung smiled brightly. The exhibition is open until the 28th. Every week, reporter Kim Mi-hyang [email protected]’I decided to give birth’… Photographing a pregnant woman in reality http://pictorial.hani.co.kr/slide.hani?gid=10235