Outside of medical contexts, babies tend to be photographed sentimentally, but Shin spares us none of the violent intensity of bringing about life and of being alive. To have a child is a risk, to make art is a risk — and Shin’s images simultaneously showcase the fragility of the human animal and the ferocity of its will.

What are pure art aims?

That music is primarily a combination of tones

Painting a combination of colors

Dancing a combination of movements.

Let us say this in artistic terms: we want more

Composition

Combination

Construction

Dynamic and static

Weight and qualities

Rhythm and balance

and so on.

"I love to laugh, and I’m always laughing. I view sadness and joy as intrinsically linked. Melancholy is such a bittersweet emotion, but the sweetness is there. I wanted to make that clearer. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not dark and brooding all the time."