Courtesy of the Lyle Gallery.
South Korea’s Women of the Sea
A photographic collection exploring humankind’s relationship with nature.
On the volcanic island of Jeju, 100 kilometres off the mainland of South Korea, generations of women dive deep below the ocean’s surface in search of sea urchins, abalone, and other sea life. These women, called haenyeo, freedive up to 20 metres down without the use of oxygen masks to spear their prey, often serving as the primary breadwinners in the semi-matriarchical society.
It’s a dangerous profession and one that is less and less common as climate change disrupts marine ecosystems and younger generations seek jobs with better pay and fewer risks. These haenyeo, or women of the sea, are the subject of Peter Ash Lee’s photographic collection, The Last Mermaid, on display now in New York City at Lyle Gallery until August 15. First assembled as a book by the same name released earlier this year, the images become larger than life in the Chinatown gallery, capturing a 2,000-year-old tradition on the brink of extinction.
Born in Seoul and raised in Toronto, Lee, who now lives in New York, is a director and photographer for major clients and fashion magazines, including Glossier, Tom Ford, Vogue, Dazed, and New York Magazine, and is also the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Burdock, an arts and culture platform dedicated to celebrating Asian American experiences. The multihyphenate creative travelled to Jeju Island in December 2018 to photograph the practices of the haenyeo.
During his time there, he got to know one young haenyeo, the product of three generations of divers, who calls herself the Last Mermaid. Her youth is a sharp contrast to the weathered faces of many of the haenyeo photographed for the collection. In his images, Lee explores the tension between these women and their increasingly unstable environment, reframing climate change not just as a scientific problem but as a sociological one that puts cultures across the globe at risk. The Last Mermaid is both a tribute and warning, honouring our relationships with nature and urging is to take steps to protect Earth’s rich cultural diversity.
The Last Mermaid is on view at Lyle Gallery in New York through August 15.
