Swiss French photographer Hélène Binet takes us on a visual journey through a world of stone, walls and gardens that define and celebrate the Korean art of making. In pure and calm photographs, The Intimacy of Making captures the traditional Korean architecture of three historical sites. Binet examines different typologies of traditional architecture in Korea: the Confucian school and sacred place Byeongsan Seowon; the garden and tea house Soswaewon; and the Jongmyo Shrine. Her camera work brings together both nature and the built structures, and reveals the souls of the three places.

The purity of the photographic motifs sharpens one’s eye for the often-overlooked beauty and harmony in the built environment, as well as the care for craft and composition. This book is a reminder of our often fleeting and careless perceptions. The photographic essays are accompanied by two texts: Korean architect Byoung Soo Cho offers insight into the cultural and architectural history of the sites, while photographer and writer Eugénie Shinkle focuses on the “making” of the photographs.

Hélène Binet

Avec des essais de Byoung Soo Cho, Eugénie Shinkle

Lars Müller Publishers, 2021

30,5 x 24,5 cm, 236 pages