Mary Inhea Kang is a South Korean American photographer driven by a desire to understand and document the identities we construct for ourselves, which affect how we build our world. Mary was born in Icheon, South Korea and later moved to Austin, Texas. Through her work, she explores the tensions and limits between individualism and collectivism. When approaching photos, Mary is inspired by her friend Shiyam Galyon’s quote, “I want to live in a world that feels moved by photos of non-white people at their best moments in life, rather than at their worst” while not ignoring the real issues that many marginalized communities face. She mentions this because dignity is often overlooked when it comes to the depiction of people of color in mainstream media. Appreciative of team works, Mary finds meaningfulness in collaborative efforts with the people she photographs. Outside of work, Mary volunteers as a board member at Authority Collective, a group that seeks to empower and amplify the visual narrative works of marginalized identities, share resources, and build community. Please check out these incredible photographers on the Lit List!
Here are other quotes that drive her:
'When we have developed a system that functions in the true interest of the people and established it in full, then the word "work" will be redefined as "meaningful play."' - Huey P. Newton
“Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” - Leonard Cohen
“If Mama Nature teaches us nothing else, she teaches us that diversity is absolutely necessary for survival. Now, she doesn’t mean some surface diversity, but a system where every single being is doing their part, pulling their weight. A homogenous, ‘gentrified’ eco-system would quickly die. If we are committed to organizing sustainable and liberating social movements they must be diverse, pulling especially from those who are the most impacted instead of suppressing their voices or using them as props.” - Nia Eshu Robinson
Published in:
6Mois
AARP
Asia Tatler Magazine
Billboard
CNN Photos
The Cosmopolitan
The FADER
INC Magazine
The Intercept
Juxtapoz Magazine
Kinfolk Magazine
Level Music
Man Repeller
Mashable
Medium
The New Yorker
The New York Times
No Man’s Land by The Wing
The Texas Observer
Time Magazine
Vogue
The Wall Street Journal
The Washington Post
Branding:
About Arianne
AG x Man Repeller
Disney Theatrical Productions
Fuze Tea x Coca Cola Company
Jonesy
Las Cruxes
Lenscrafters x AR New York
Maimoun NY
Nike x Wolf & Wilhelmine
Sundae School
Warm Up x MOMA PS1
Uniqlo x Mashable
Featured Artist in:
Aperture Foundation
BRETT Magazine
Everyday Everywhere
The FADER
The Heavy Collective
Journal NYC
OURS Magazine
The Photographic Dictionary
Snapshot Magazine
Women Artists
Artist Press Photo:
Khruangbin
Dominique Fung
Oneohtrix Point Never
Event Clients:
Fader Fort
Genius
Global Citizens Festival
IAMSOUND
MoMA PS1 Warm Up
Red Bull Music Festival
Non-Profit:
Chroma NY
Refugee Services of Texas
South Asia Institute, University of London
South Asia Institute, the University of Texas at Austin
Yellow Jackets Collective
Exhibition:
Pop up solo exhibition "Himalayan Children" at Lewis Carnegie hosted by Rank & File 2016 Austin
Group show at the Think Tank Gallery hosted by Life Framer 2015 // Los Angeles
Group show at the Juraplatz Art Space hosted by Life Framer 2015 // Biel/Bienne, Switzerland
Asian American Resource Center 2013 // Austin
Group show with UT chapter of the National Press Photographers Association 2010 // Austin