(Source: Maxim Shesterikov)
On February 6, the exhibition “Breath, Дихання, Summ” opened at the LMS Gallery in Riga, Latvia. In the third year of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Korean Council, Women’s NGOs Cooperation (Sieviešu sadarbības tīkls), and the Young Blood Initiative co-hosted the exhibition "Breath, Дихання, Summ" which connects the victims of the war in Ukraine and the Japanese military's "comfort women."
The exhibition showcases the work of photographers Andrejs Strokins and Yajima Tsukasa, capturing the portraits of women survivors from wars. The exhibition frames the works as a dialogue between the experiences of Korean women forced mobilized to military sexual slavery during the Japanese invasion between 1930 ~ 1945 (also known as Japanese military “comfort women”) and the current experience of Ukrainian women as they continue to resist the invasion of their country.
The word "숨(; Suum)" is a pure Korean term that means to breathe or to give life. The title Breath. Дихання. Suum. is made up of ‘breath’ in English or Latvian, Korean, and Ukrainian; it captures the fading breaths of the remaining comfort women and the stories of Ukrainian women who have left their country in search of a place where they can breathe freely.
The exhibition brings women’s individual stories to the forefront, presenting their portraits and their personal stories in their own voices. By contrasting the experiences and stories of Korean and Ukrainian survivors, the exhibit displays a dialogue between Korea and Ukraine, the past and the present, survival, and trauma.
(Source: Maxim Shesterikov)
On February 6, the exhibition “Breath, Дихання, Summ” opened at the LMS Gallery in Riga, Latvia. In the third year of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Korean Council, Women’s NGOs Cooperation (Sieviešu sadarbības tīkls), and the Young Blood Initiative co-hosted the exhibition "Breath, Дихання, Summ" which connects the victims of the war in Ukraine and the Japanese military's "comfort women."
The exhibition showcases the work of photographers Andrejs Strokins and Yajima Tsukasa, capturing the portraits of women survivors from wars. The exhibition frames the works as a dialogue between the experiences of Korean women forced mobilized to military sexual slavery during the Japanese invasion between 1930 ~ 1945 (also known as Japanese military “comfort women”) and the current experience of Ukrainian women as they continue to resist the invasion of their country.
The word "숨(; Suum)" is a pure Korean term that means to breathe or to give life. The title Breath. Дихання. Suum. is made up of ‘breath’ in English or Latvian, Korean, and Ukrainian; it captures the fading breaths of the remaining comfort women and the stories of Ukrainian women who have left their country in search of a place where they can breathe freely.
The exhibition brings women’s individual stories to the forefront, presenting their portraits and their personal stories in their own voices. By contrasting the experiences and stories of Korean and Ukrainian survivors, the exhibit displays a dialogue between Korea and Ukraine, the past and the present, survival, and trauma.
(Source: Maxim Shesterikov)