One of the central feelings Hyunmin wants to communicate throughout the series is that it follows his nephew’s growth and, more simply, his day-to-day life. This, Hyunmin explains, is why he applies so many different styles and approaches. Some enhance the silly, absurd side of childhood, like the brilliantly funny Eight-Eyed Boy – which also shows the duo’s ingenious use of props – while others show the quieter, more meditative moments. In Reflection, Sae-hyun sits atop a large rock, his back towards us staring into a body of water, the purples of the early evening light giving it a peaceful quality. There’s even the odd one that comes across as a highly stylised, high-fashion editorial piece – specifically Wearing Grandma’s Clothes, which shows Sae-hyun posing, dressed up to the nines in his grandmother’s coat, fur scarf and sunglasses, a clean white background stylishly framing the shot.
It’s photos like Wearing Grandmother’s Clothes that Hyun-min identifies as his favourite images from the series, for their being recreations of images that existed prior to the project: “I love these photos because they were created without the premise of art”, he adds. They’re the ones that add a sense of familiarity to the shoot, as depictions of funny acts we’ve all ourselves been involved in as children, or can imagine the young ones closest to us re-enacting. Much like a photo version of Richard Linklater’s 12-year spanning epic Boyhood, Hyunmin has dreams of carrying on the series until his nephew becomes an adult. That is, of course, if the leading act Sae-hyun continues to give it the go-ahead.