Cindy Ji’s photobook, The Adventure of Jane, weaves together Cindy Ji’s photographic archive and Woojung Ji’s short stories. The book explores the struggle to conform to unattainable societal norms and the internal conflict that arises when faced with the challenge of assimilating into American society and its beauty standards. This theme is subtly conveyed through the symbol of the name “Jane.” The inclusion of intimate portraits of both the photographer and the writer adds an additional layer of ambiguity, inviting interpretation regarding the identity and significance of Jane.
About the author:
Cindy Ji is a Daejeon-born and U.S/South Korea-raised lens-based artist. Her artistic practice is driven by the desire to understand larger societal phenomena through collections of microscopic moments that serve as reflections of these larger phenomena. In her most recent work, “The Adventures of Jane,” she explores the themes of identity assimilation, beauty standards, and stories behind names, presented in the form of a book. She was awarded the Doculab Fellowship in 2020 by the John B. Hurford ’60 Center for the Arts and Humanities from Haverford College. Cindy Ji holds an MFA degree in Studio Arts from the Department of Photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
