First Impressions

Women who, with a gentle casualty, carve paths. There are sensations one has before first impressions. Then, at once, they come. Warm, tender, inspiring. Seoul, I dreamed of you. Here I was, with my whole self and rolls of film.

As the hot summer in Korea came to an end, I arrived in Seoul. Short sleeves, my camera bouncing back on my brown body. Years passed and reinforced my dream to visit the country to meet old and new friends. Thanks to an invitation for an artist residency, I stayed in South Korea for two weeks. Horticulture, temple cuisine, and tea are some of the subjects I delved into. The feelings of this first voyage changed me more than knowledge, acquired or shared. I saw further as a woman. Not that I thought I was limiting myself before - but we all do at times. Like a bra that holds tight and does not hold much, I let open, feeling whole. No hook and eye fastening, shooting free hand as always but returning freer. For all the encounters, all the women are met, like mirrors, part of them, part of me. I have returned home in England, by way of France, where I was born, knowing we are all many and one. I now learn Korean, so further than feel, I may listen and speak.