Spirit of place, genius loci, atmosphere, character, ambiance, soul; whatever you want to call it, that intangible ‘thing’ that varies from place to place is often hard to articulate. In this beautiful series of short films, South Korean photographer, designer and film-maker Hang gab Lee attempts to capture the elusive notion of ‘place’ within the destinations he travels to. He does so by following one simple rule: wander aimlessly.
Beyond iconic buildings and impressive landscapes, it is within the everyday objects and seemingly mundane happenings of life that the essence of place truly lies. And this is what Lee is so exceptionally skilled in capturing.
‘Place’ is a concept that lies at the very heart of landscape architecture. Understanding where it stems from and how to design it can be incredibly challenging. But as Lee’s films demonstrate, wandering without purpose is perhaps a good place to start…
WANDER IN TURKEY from Hang gab Lee on Vimeo.
WANDER IN VIETNAM from Hang gab Lee on Vimeo.
In Lee’s next addition to his ‘Wandering’ series he hopes to uncover the beauty of the familiar as he aimlessly meanders through his home country of South Korea.You can see more of Lee’s work here.
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Lead image taken via a screenshot of Wander in Turkey
Published in Blog
