“I began working on ‘Conflict and Reaction’ in 1990. As I continued the project, I encountered our traditional rituals and festivals, and within those practices I discovered our (Korean) spiritual worldview. From that point on, I began taking photographs from our own spiritual perspective. The very first photograph I took became the cover image of this book.”

A revised and expanded edition of ‘Conflict and Reaction’—a photobook by Lee Gapchul (60), who has traveled every corner of the country documenting through photography the jeonghan (情恨), sinmyeong, and tenacious vitality embedded in the lives of Korea’s ancestors—will be released 18 years after its initial publication.

The ‘Conflict and Reaction’ series consists of photographs in which Lee captures Korea’s disappearing traditions, customs, and shamanistic practices from a deeply subjective perspective. By drawing out Korean sensibility and the unconscious, the series delivered a major shock to the photographic world. Expressing universal yet intangible forms flowing beneath Korean emotional foundations, Lee’s photographs—marked by strong elements of primitivism and shamanism—reveal desires driven by primal life impulses. This is, in essence, the vivid life force of the Korean people’s dynamic collisions and reactions.

Some of Lee’s photographs evoke an eerie sensation. “The reason people feel something eerie or shamanistic,” he explains, “is because there is something deep inside me.”

“My way of taking photographs is not about identifying what that ‘something’ is. I take photographs with my entire body and mind, through sensation. That is precisely the ‘unconscious’ and ‘intuition.’ The goal was not to express something specific, but rather to reveal something within my heart that could not be otherwise. This exists in everyone, but it is difficult to find—because it lies so deep.”

The revised edition includes 14 additional works that were not featured in the original 2002 publication, bringing the total to over 80 photographs. It contains the complete Conflict and Reaction series, regarded as the artist’s representative body of work. To commemorate the publication, the 《Conflict and Reaction》 photo exhibition also opened at The Reference in Hyoja-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. The exhibition is centered on works from the Space22 collection. The photobook, scheduled for release in early August, is also available at the venue.

The book was produced in two versions: a Special Edition and a Standard Edition. Limited to 100 copies, the Special Edition consists of a red hardcover photobook and one original signed print by the artist, presented in a boxed set. The included work, Dreaming of Liberation 2, is a gelatin silver print personally made by the artist. It was photographed in 1993 at Haeinsa Temple in Hapcheon, on the day of the cremation ceremony of Venerable Seongcheol. The image captures a monk quietly meditating atop a rooftop, making it an exceptionally rare and significant photograph. This work foreshadows Lee’s later period, in which his photography deepens and becomes more restrained, layering subtle resonance through refined visual language.

Lee Gapchul also worked as an exclusive photographer for the French agency VU from 2005 to 2015. After concluding his 2002 《Conflict and Reaction》 exhibition at the Kumho Museum of Art, he participated in an exhibition of ten Korean contemporary photographers in Montpellier, southern France. At the time, a junior colleague studying in Paris remarked that the work was “too valuable to simply be sent back” and recommended it to French photography critic Christian Caujolle—leading to positive outcomes.

“Just as people eat, breathe, and live their lives, my photography is the same. Times continue to change, and as time passes, the work deepens, expands, and moves forward. I decided to remake the book properly, so that even a book that remains rooted in 2002 would not fall short in comparison to the printing and binding standards of more advanced countries.”

Lee was born in Hapcheon, Gyeongsangnam-do, and grew up in Jinju. He graduated from the Department of Photography at Shingu College in 1984. His solo exhibitions include 《Land of Others》 (Gyeongin Art Gallery, 1988), 《Conflict and Reaction》 (Kumho Museum of Art, 2002), and 《Energy, Gi (Energy, 氣)》 (Hanmi Museum of Photography, 2007). He has also participated in international exhibitions such as 《Photofest 2000》 (Houston, USA, 2000), 《Paris Photo》 (France, 2005), and 《Imaging Korea: People, Land, and Beyond Time》 (Germany and other venues, 2016), establishing an active global presence.

The exhibition runs through August 11. The book is published by Space22 and Ian Books, and the exhibition is organized by Space22 and The Reference.

192 pages. Standard Edition: 60,000 KRW. Special Edition: 500,000 KRW. The Standard Edition is available at online and offline bookstores, while the Special Edition can be purchased at The Reference.

References

• 사진가 이갑철, 한국의 감흥과 무의식···‘충돌과 반동’
  Photographer Lee Gapchul: Korean Sensibility and the Unconscious… ‘Conflict and Reaction’)