The Photographic Alphabet: Y is for Ji Yeo

"Beauty Recovery Room" by Ji Yeo

By Tyler Austin  

Art is something that is best created from experiences in someone’s life. Taking the emotions and thoughts you’re having in a single moment and transferring them into viewable art produces work that truly resonates with an audience. The work of South Korean photographer Ji Yeo is a true example of this concept.

Since she was young Yeo has struggled with self esteem issues, wavering back and forth with undergoing cosmetic surgery, something that isn’t uncommon among women in South Korea. She had several consultations with surgeons only to be left with more questions and less faith in what her results might look like. After much thought she decided there were too many unknown factors for her to go through with the surgery.

However, since then she’s created works centered around the emotions and feelings that lead up to and follow a cosmetic surgery, the results have resonated with women everywhere.

Her series “Beauty Recovery Room” was the first of these works. The project is a series of shots from individuals as they recover from recent cosmetic surgeries; bandaged, bruised, and vulnerable. In an interview with Refinery29 Yeo reveals that many of those she photographed had undergone numerous surgeries even before she'd started this.

Her next project “Draw On Me” (shown above) explores the same theme. Standing amongst a crowd of people in a Brooklyn Flea Market, Yeo is photographed wearing nude tight-fitting clothing and holding a sign that simply reads “I want to be perfect. Draw on me. Where should I get Plastic Surgery?” Passersbys draw things like “You already are perfect” and “Not here.”