Daesung Lee's 'Nirvana' Celebrates Korean Women Through Playful Mother-Son Photos

In 2024, Paris and Korea-based photographer Daesung Lee began photographing his mother during extended visits to his hometown in Korea, resulting in the series 'Nirvana.' The project uses humor and play to explore the lives of Korean women of her generation, incorporating motifs like starfish, red thermal underwear, and Buddhist references. Lee's mother became a creative collaborator, and the process was more important than the final result. The series reflects on Korea's history—from Japanese colonial rule and the Korean War to the 1960s-70s custom of children buying red underwear for parents—while aiming to transform difficult experiences into positive shared memories. Lee, who previously worked on heavy themes like climate change and the Bosnian War, sought a lighter approach. The title references Buddhist liberation from the cycle of rebirth. The photographs were staged in the family's front yard in a small coastal village, using starfish collected by local fishermen to create night-sky backdrops.