A Thousand Wishes in Bloom (2008) Photograph by sangwon jeon

This photograph was taken beneath the eaves of Sudeoksa Temple in Yesan, South Chungcheong Province, where hundreds of paper lanterns hang in tight formation ahead of Buddha's Birthday. Seen from above, the lanterns resolve into broad fields of red, blue, yellow, pink, and green, their curved lines cutting across one another like brushstrokes on a canvas the size of the courtyard itself. The temple's dark tiled roof frames the scene from above, its quiet gray curve holding back the riot of color beneath it. What draws me to this view is the sheer density — thousands of individual wishes, each hung by a different hand, merging into a single unbroken wave. Beneath the discipline of the architecture lies something far less orderly: hope, offered again and again until it fills the frame. Printed on fine art paper. Sold unframed; ready to be mounted or framed to the collector's preference.

Details:

• Photograph on Paper
• From a limited edition of 10
• Size: 38 x 25 x 0.2cm / 38 x 25cm (actual image size)
• Signed and numbered on the back
• Style: Photorealistic
• Subject: Architecture and cityscapes