Hear a pin drop | Lin Shihyen | Aka Aka 2024

"South Korean human rights activist Uhm Kiho says, "The one commonality of pain is that it is an experience that cannot be shared with others. But the loneliness born from pain that cannot be shared is the same for everyone." 

It's been 14 years since I started self-harming. I don't have a habit of self-harm, but there are still times when I do it. Whenever it came to the attention of my parents, the psychiatrist, and other people I interacted with, they would ask me, "Do you want to die?" The way I was at the time, I was never able to clearly refute that kind of question and it always left me feeling uncomfortable. Back then, I started self-harming out of fear of death; the sight of the red color flowing from the flesh color of my cut skin was instinctively frightening to me. 

My desire to live is surely what underlies that reaction. 

Before I knew it, I was past the age of 30. Upon reflection, I now realize that the strength inherent in life is much greater than I ever imagined when I was young. I wanted to witness the various forms of that strength with my own eyes. Emotions ebb and flow like the tide every day, yet the passage of time is always serene, shining within the landscape. If I can capture this in photographs, perhaps it will serve as proof of us being alive.

I hope the loneliness born from pain that cannot be shared will ease." - Lin Shihyen