The time held
in the smallest of things
Withered natural things, suspended against the dark.Where the micro and the cosmos overlap — the time of quarks.
A daily ritual —
photography as the density of time
Choi Jaeran studied photography at Chung-Ang University and went on to take a master's degree in public administration at Ajou University's Graduate School of Public Policy. Based in Suwon, she has long explored the landscapes around the fortress walls of Hwaseong.
Her work begins with attention. As she puts it, she has continued “observing and exploring the traces of time through objects and landscapes we pass by without a second thought.” Grass and trees, stones, withered petals and dried fruit — the experience of looking long at small, trivial things made her aware of a layer of time that is invisible yet unmistakably present, and this became the starting point of her practice.
Her central project, 〈The Time of Quarks〉, begins from a question about the most fundamental unit that composes the world. Just as the elementary particle — the “quark” — threads through all matter, she takes time to be a universal presence that seeps even into the smallest everyday object, drawing an analogy between the structure of matter and the structure of time.
Her method is at once everyday and ritual. Walking each day, she observes and gathers natural objects, then suspends withered nature on wire against a black ground, attaching seeds and fruit to reconstruct a still life. Over that, she draws constellations, the cosmos, and traditional patterns as symbols. Here the photograph is no longer a device for capturing an instant but one for revealing the accumulation and density of time.
Major themes
- 1
The traces of time
Withered petals and dried fruit — looking long at small things reveals an invisible layer of time.
- 2
〈The Time of Quarks〉
As the quark threads through all matter, time seeps into the smallest object — the micro and the cosmos overlapping.
- 3
Reconstructed still life
Withered nature suspended on wire against black, drawn over with constellations and patterns — photography as accumulated time.
The artist's timeline
- Edu.B.F.A. in Photography, Chung-Ang University; M.A. in Public Administration, Ajou University Graduate School of Public Policy.
- 2017〈Dreaming Love Song〉 solo exhibition, Nosong Gallery, Suwon.
- 2019〈Tears〉, DDP; 〈Hwaseong, the Surrounding Landscape〉, Ideale, Suwon.
- 2020〈Hwaseong, Apocalyptic Landscape〉, Haenggungjae Gallery.
- 2022〈Hwaseong, Apocalyptic Landscape〉, Suwon SK Artrium.
- 2023〈Kairos Mural〉, Art Space Areum, Suwon.
- 2024〈Kairos Mural〉, Starfield Suwon.
- 2026〈The Time of Quarks〉 — two-person show at Gallery 712 / invited exhibition at Jaejae Gallery, Seoul.
Selected exhibitions & awards
- Group exhibitions: SAF (G&J Gallery, Insa Art Center, 2026); Busan International Photo Festival open-call special exhibition (2025); Korea International Photo Festival, Hangaram Art Museum, Seoul Arts Center (2023).
- Awards: 'Hyeonghyeong-saeksaek' Award, Korea International Photo Festival (2023); selected artist, 8th Contemporary Photography Open Call, Gallery Index (2021); selected artist, Art Gyeonggi, Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation (2021).
- Selected as a 2024 Suwon Culture & Arts generative-AI media-art artist.
Two essays —
on the work and its time
1The traces of time — looking long at small things
Choi Jaeran's practice does not begin with a grand subject. It begins with the things we pass by without a second thought: grass and trees, a stone, a withered petal, a dried fruit. Looking long at such small, trivial objects, she came to sense a layer that ordinary attention misses — a layer of time that is invisible yet unmistakably there.
That recognition became the starting point of everything she makes. In her own words, she has continued “observing and exploring the traces of time through objects and landscapes we pass by without a second thought.” Time, in her work, is not measured but accumulated — held in the wrinkle of a dried leaf, in the curl of a withered stem, in the slow surrender of a fruit to dryness.
2〈The Time of Quarks〉 — where the micro meets the cosmos
Her central series, 〈The Time of Quarks〉, begins from a question about the most fundamental unit that composes the world. The quark — the elementary particle of cosmic matter — threads through all things, invisible yet everywhere. Choi takes time to be exactly such a presence: universal, unseen, seeping even into the smallest everyday object. The series sets the structure of matter and the structure of time side by side, and lets one illuminate the other.
The making is both daily and ritual. Walking each day, she observes and gathers natural objects; then, against a black ground, she suspends withered nature on wire and attaches seeds and fruit, reconstructing a still life. Over that constructed image she draws constellations, the cosmos, and traditional patterns — so that a single dried stem and the whole night sky share one frame. The photograph here is not a way of stopping an instant but of revealing the accumulation and density of time.
The series is also opening outward. A planned extension, 〈The Time of Quarks: Sea〉, turns to small fragments worn smooth by the waves, composed as still life and drawn over in the same way — time read, again, in what the world has slowly worn down.
Between the withered stem and the night sky, between the micro and the cosmos, Choi Jaeran has built a quiet, patient body of work about the time that seeps into the smallest of things. She joins this campaign in solidarity with fellow artists — so that the next generation might keep working, slowly, at what others pass by.
Selected Works
7 works are featured here.
Choi Jaeran joined this campaign in solidarity with fellow artists. Every work sold flows directly into the artists' mutual-aid loan fund— a purchase becomes the next month's lifeline for an artist navigating financial exclusion today.
