Documentary Photography

The Era of Cultural Enrichment

My project will allow you to go on a journey throughout South Korea and see how remnants of their history still linger on today. The story of Hendrick Hamel, the Dutch discoverer of Korea in the 17th century, is symbolic of this. He was an accountant for the United East Indian Company and upon travelling from Taiwan to Japan was left stranded on Jeju Island after his ship ‘The Sperwer’ crashed. Hamel and his crew of merchants were captured and held captive; however, after 13 years of travelling throughout Korea he escaped to Japan. It was here where Hamel started to write memoirs of his experiences and to which his story became legend: almost everybody knows the story of Hendrick Hamel in South Korea. It is this story which fascinated me and forced me to see the country for myself. This project will highlight the historical remains of Korean history, unveil the scars of war and destruction, and illustrate how the distinction between fake and real is more illusory then clear cut in this enigmatic country.

Whenua, Homeland

Istanbul

No Privacy, mikael.labrecque@hotmail.ca

On the 26th of February I started my project about Privacy in Amsterdam. Around 12:50 I noticed a guy taking selfies on dam square, so I decided to take secretly photos of him. When we both finished taking our photos I “accidentally” bumped into him and asked if I could take his portrait. Afterwards he gave me his e-mail details, which leaded me to this project which was exhibited at Fotodok.

Arie