Park Chan-wook's First European Photography Exhibition Opens at Lee Ufan Arles

The acclaimed South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, known for films such as Old Boy, The Handmaiden, and Decision to Leave, is presenting his photographs for the first time in Europe. The exhibition, titled "Par un matin calme" (One Quiet Morning), is on view at Lee Ufan Arles, located in the Hôtel de Vernon in Arles, France, from July 6 to October 4, 2026. Curated by Valérie Duponchelle, a journalist at Le Figaro, the show is part of the associated program of the Rencontres d'Arles photography festival. Park, who was born in 1963 and served as jury president at the last Cannes Film Festival, describes photography as an "antidote" to cinema, offering spontaneity and freedom absent from his meticulously storyboarded film sets. The exhibition features meditative images of everyday life, including a cat crossing flowers, snow-covered landscapes, and stormy skies, alongside more unsettling scenes such as a plastic mannequin in a field and folded umbrellas resembling ghosts. Some of his frequent collaborators appear in the photographs, including Kim Min-hee in a geisha costume and Tang Wei on the set of Decision to Leave. The show highlights the dialogue between his cinematic and photographic practices, revealing a quieter, more contemplative side of the artist.