Transformer Gallery

I just went to the Transformer Gallery on P Street in Washington DC. It is a small gallery with only one floor for the art to hang on. The exhibit that on display now is Hatnim Lee’s Photographs. The exhibit runs until April 26th. The content is everyday life. The pictures do not seem staged although I am sure some of them required a bit of direction. They are all portraits. When I say portraits, I do not mean the normal straight forward shot. Lee definetly seems to capture the essence of each subject through different ways. The background gives a depth to the characters in each photograph. The images are large-scale prints. The content ranges from intimate portraits to fashion shoots. The images have an innocence that connects with the viewer. Lee utilizes short depth of field balanced with a good use of negative space. She definitely breaks the picture plane into thirds, which in turn draws the viewer’s eye around the entire image. The images are C-prints, which really make the saturated, bold colors within each scene pop.

This exhibit is a diary of Lee's life over the past year. She has photographed her every day activities. These include subjects from her freelance jobs at National Geographic to employees working in her parents store. One of my favorite pictures the one of an androgynous model. The mood in the photograph is dark and intimate. Lee seems to have a talent for capturing these real-life moments and showing them in an appealing way. One really feels that you have some knowledge of each subject, simply because of the way they are posed and the background information.

Lee has been writing a blog over the past year that includes these photographs and many more. A book is being compiled of all of these pictures in order to document their stories.

Here is a link to her blog