Overview

GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK IS A PHOTO SERIES BASED ON URBAN ISLAND, A MUSIC VIDEO I CREATED WITH NAMHUI PARK FOR THE SONG VARÚÐ BY THE ICELANDIC BAND SIGUR RÓS. URBAN ISLAND FOLLOWS A HOMELESS MAN IN HIS FORTIES WHO HAS LIVED ON THE STREETS OF SEOUL FOR MORE THAN EIGHT YEARS. FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS, HE HAS BEEN PART OF A SMALL HOMELESS COMMUNITY THAT CAMPS IN A PARK NEXT TO THE TRAIN TRACKS OF YONGSAN STATION IN SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA.

IN GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK I RETURNED AS A PHOTOGRAPHER TO DOCUMENT THIS CAMP DURING THE HARSH KOREAN WINTER. THE PHOTOGRAPHS SHOW THE SPATIAL ISOLATION OF A COMMUNITY LIVING IN A TINY PARK SURROUNDED BY THE CITY. THE IMAGES REVEAL HOW THIS SPACE HAS BECOME BOTH A SHELTER AND AN ESCAPE. AT THE SAME TIME, THEY SHOW HOW THE COMMUNITY REMAINS SEPARATED AND FENCED OFF FROM THE REST OF SOCIETY.

THE PARK APPEARS AS A SMALL ISLAND IN THE MIDDLE OF SEOUL’S URBAN CENTER. IT IS VISUALLY CUT OFF AND, IN MANY WAYS, SOCIALLY CUT OFF AS WELL. VIEWERS CAN DECIDE WHETHER THIS ISLAND FEELS LIKE A PLACE OF REFUGE OR A PLACE OF EXILE.

PHOTOGRAPHER

NILS CLAUSS

CLIENT

PERSONAL