Fine Art nominee

Whenever I look at the forest, I sense layers of time and emotion embedded within it. My process of layering photographed scenes moves beyond documentation; it becomes a way of awakening an inner resonance. As images accumulate and transform, the forest shifts from a literal landscape into a psychological space shaped by memory and duration.

By recording the same forest across different times and perspectives, then reconstructing it through compositing, I challenge photography’s representational function. Forms dissolve and boundaries soften, revealing subtle structures that are not immediately visible. The layered image becomes a site where time, perception, and inner experience intersect.

The forest operates as both subject and metaphor. It carries archetypal meanings of life, recovery, and healing, while reflecting the complexity of the self. Through abstraction, I invite viewers to pause and enter a contemplative state rather than simply observe.

My work expands photographic language by merging external landscape with internal terrain. Ultimately, this practice is an exploration of presence—how we inhabit time, memory, and silence. The forest becomes not only a place observed, but a space encountered from within.

SoonOk Ryu is a photo artist drawn to the emotional resonance inherent in painting, expanding painterly aesthetics through photography. Using digital layering processes, she reconstructs images that emphasize texture and atmospheric depth. Her work moves beyond simple representation, focusing on visualizing time, memory, and inner emotion.

By recording the same subject from multiple perspectives and layering these moments, forms and boundaries gradually dissolve, revealing subtle emotional strata. This abstract approach questions photography’s traditional function and explores the tension between the visible and the invisible. For Yoo, the forest is not merely a natural setting but a psychological space and a metaphor for the inner self, guiding viewers into quiet contemplation.

Her work has gained international recognition. She was nominated in the Fine Art and Architecture categories at the Fine Art Photography Awards in 2023 and 2025, and received Honorable Mention in the Fine Art category at the International Photography Awards in those same years. Active in South Korea and France, she participated in the Arles Off Photo Festival (2024, 2025) and Paris Photo Days (2024). In 2025, she held her solo exhibition Veil – The Forest Within in Seoul.