An Intrinsic Female Gaze

Featuring Roni Ahn Words by Nastasia Khmelnitski

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Roni Ahn is a photographer from South Korea who grew up in Hong Kong, later deciding to embark on a journey to study in London. Currently, Roni is located in Seoul and focuses on rediscovering her country of origin with a new personal project. With the series and the photobook, The City and All It Holds, shot during the pandemic in Hong Kong, Roni turns to learning in-depth about relationships unfolding during challenging times and the meaning they hold. As Roni says, “These photos hold more weight to them because they were taken during a time when interactions were kept to the minimum and when people took the time to care for those closest to them.” The value of short and ephemeral moments of interaction during this period increased to the point when connections became a source of hope and strength.

Positivity shines through Ahn’s images, which have a dream-like feeling due to the precise choice of lighting in the scenes, the work with the characters, and the narrated story. Working with several models at a time is one of Roni’s strengths that enables her to create images that allow a glimpse into another realm, one of her subjects, with a story unfolding in a static image. Working with untold emotions and the environment, both outdoors and indoors, creates a space to raise questions about people in the frame in an attempt to understand the connection between them and the situation unfolding. 

Another facet of Roni’s work is her fascination with fashion photography and her unique approach to telling the story through the prism of fashion while still researching human interactions, genuine connections, and the female gaze, curious to learn about her subjects. In this conversation, we discuss with Roni her choice to pursue photography and the meaning she finds in her career path. We explore the way Roni navigates the shoot and directs the models to become involved in the story she strives to create. 

‘A shoot that changed the way I look at shooting and holds a special place in my heart is the story I shot in Iceland with my friend, Cynthia’

My Story

You were born in South Korea but lived most of your life in Hong Kong later on, deciding to study in the UK. What are the most prominent differences between being an artist and working on projects when you compare the creative scenes of Hong Kong and London?

I grew up in Hong Kong, but it was only during the pandemic that I worked there for an extended period. I think when you find people you share similar visions with and can create stimulating and thoughtful work with, there’s not a big difference working anywhere. There are a lot of young talents in Hong Kong who are open to collaborating on these more unconventional projects, which makes it an exciting place to develop my personal work.

Photography As a Career Path

You started making images at the age of 13, developing your vision and skills since then. To become established in the sphere of photography requires to excel with commission projects or gain recognition through personal work. As you’re doing both, what was the main milestone you reached that opened the doors to the industry for you? 

There’s not one project in particular that I worked on that opened the doors to the industry (and I don’t think there’s been a main milestone for me yet). But a shoot that changed the way I look at shooting and holds a special place in my heart is the story I shot in Iceland with my friend, Cynthia. We’ve been best friends since we were 13, and she was the first person I ever shot; it really meant a lot for us to create this shoot from scratch and to be able to do it against the most beautiful backdrop of Iceland. The shoot was inspired by the sensation of cold air on your skin and how your body reacts by producing warmth to fight the cold. Working on this story also made me realise that I want to create work that can convey a certain feeling or story to the viewer.

‘When you exist in a society where there’s a constant need or pressure to interact with other beings, you often don’t stop to think about the relationships that you hold dearest to you.’

The City And All It Holds

The project, The City And All It Holds, which eventually became a book, was shot amid a pandemic during the lockdown in Hong Kong. It depicts youth and personal connections and relationships through a tender prism of compassion and attentiveness to the small details at a time when coming together was highly complex. Looking back at the project and remembering subjects you met and worked with – the relationships that grew stronger or went through hardships during the pandemic – how would you envision working on the same topic today?  

When you exist in a society where there’s a constant need or pressure to interact with other beings, you often don’t stop to think about the relationships that you hold dearest to you. Whilst relationships are ubiquitous whether there’s a pandemic or not, it’s during those tough times where you look more closely at people around you. These photos, I think, hold more weight to them because they were taken during a time when interactions were kept to the minimum and when people took the time to care for those closest to them.

The Theme

The visual theme of your work is closely related to creating a narrative through interaction between characters and their surrounding world. The feeling created is fascinating in its proximity to cinematic frames – and takes the viewer to a dream-like world on the verge of reality and imagination – while the subjects have a deeper story to tell. In what way does the feminine gaze shift the visual aesthetics today, and what is still missing in the industry?   

Having or maintaining a female gaze is not something I particularly think about whilst shooting. I guess it is more intrinsic as I’ve never looked at the world through a male gaze.

Characters

We spoke briefly about your approach to creating a narrative in the frame. What is your way of working with models to create the connection that will be interpreted into the visual you are seeking to build?

If it is a more narrative-based or personal shoot, I try to spend the time before the shoot to explain the story and feeling I’m attempting to capture. I don’t tend to give too much direction at the start of the shoot, as I like to see what the subjects can bring out of themselves without being molded into how I’d like to capture them.

A Sneak Peek

What project/s are you currently working on, and what should we expect next in terms of themes you’re developing? 

I recently relocated to Seoul from London. I’m Korean, but I’ve only lived there for seven years in total when I was younger before I moved to Hong Kong. Rediscovering the country where I’m originally from has been a very interesting journey and I’m currently working on a personal project that’ll hopefully be released next year.