“This series comes from something closer to me, something familiar. That familiarity comes is the act of waiting and a secret communication between myself and the objects. This familiarity, in turn, becomes unfamiliar through the emptiness of thought. Emptiness, like the white space in a photograph, makes the objects dream.” _Jungjin Lee, 2025 JungJin Lee’s “Thing” series consists of works capturing everyday objects in intimate close-ups, which are then printed in black and white on Korean handmade paper. Through a meditative shooting process, the artist distills the essence of the subject, removing all extraneous elements. Backgrounds and shadows are eliminated, and the forms are simplified, while the empty spaces are filled with the artist’s emotions and internalized thoughts. In particular, the white spaces surrounding each dark object reflect an Eastern painting and calligraphy concept of “emptiness.” Through this blank space, the objects acquire a new meaning. Lee raises questions about the artistic role of exploring and expressing the essence of existence through observation.