Kyu Sang Lee

Seventeenth century poet John Milton’s epic masterpiece, Paradise Regained is a complex tale. There are obvious biblical references to Adam and Eve, the Fall and subsequent attempts to reclaim Eden. Although the language is often convoluted and terse, there are subtle nuances: the beguiling force of the evil tempter; the mythical love shared between the first people; the attempt to recover and return to Paradise, and the travails of this earthly existence between the possibilities of so-called heaven and the fearsome prospect of so-called hell.

What then can Milton’s Paradise Regained teach us within an African and South African context? The significance of basic education that is broad, deep and open as a right to all; the need for heroes and heroines to fight against social injustices; that the more negative side of the self is insidious; that we are the guardians of the earth and Eden can be made out of this earth – that should we open our eyes we may yet see that there are pockets of paradise right here in South Africa. Finally that love and care between partners can indeed change the world so that we should recognise its delight that abounds.

Now, how is this to be achieved? Consider the corruption in our country. Consider that the hell of apartheid that is now over and where racism ought to be a thing of the past has not transpired. Politics in this country is still deeply racial and the fledging democracy has not yielded a responsible, prosperous nation state. Education is in crisis and there is even the threat of violence.

Richard Levin writes in New Agenda (2016:8): “the post-apartheid state has been challenged to skew the provision of state services to the people who need them most, while minimising opportunities for corruption. The colonial unconscious, however casts doubt on affirmative efforts to redress the past, as well as the legitimate use of procurement for socio-economic transformation and empowerment”. Thus, although equality (read: paradise) has been achieved constitutionally, it is unclear whether South Africa has improved or is a mere “lost Eden”.

KyuSang Lee’s photographic artistic practice draws on his experience within distinct regions and cultures of the world. Born in Seoul, Korea in 1993 and having moved to Cape Town in 2005, his artistic practice exhibits strong influences of Eastern, Western and African cultures.

KyuSang, working in predominantly black and white photography, presents an interesting juxtaposition to ideas of the “lost”.

From Now to Then captures a method of systematic collection that documents moments and experiences short-lived in the present. The result is a photographic archive that visually preserves these instances and renders them concrete.

His concept lies in the notion of irreversibility of time and its undeniable link to photography which literally functions as the “representation and preservation of memory”(KuySang Lee)