An inspiring approach to photography
Clean, spare, and meditative, joSon’s photography reveals a mind
of extraordinary focus as well as a deep sense of captivating
simplicity. Perhaps these qualities can be attributed to the fact that
joSon lived in a Buddhist temple from age 10 to age 18, gardening,
drawing, and teaching art to the resident monks. When he turned 18, the
temple master told him he was destined for artistry, noting that, “Life
chooses us and takes us places.” Here, joSon shares how his experiences
played a role in shaping his life as a photographer, and why his images
incorporate what he was looking for in the temple—a deep desire for
peace, combined with an inspired approach to life.
Photoshop.com: Tell us about your personal journey growing up. Did that journey help define who you are today?
joSon: My Filipino-Chinese mother and my
African-American father worked for the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines,
where I was born. My grandmother, who lived in Vietnam, introduced me to
Buddhist temples when she visited my mother and me in Manila. Inspired
by how peaceful I felt within the temple walls—and by the escape those
walls provided from the judgment I experienced for looking different due
to my mixed ethnicity—I started to visit my grandmother in the summers
so I could spend more time in the temples when I was not in school. I
began to believe it was my calling to become a monk, and I told that to
my mother. I moved to Vietnam to be close to my grandmother, and I lived
in a temple from the age of 10 to 18. Though I was not chosen to be a
monk at age 18, I feel that my time at the monastery influenced my
artistic style today. It is evident in the meditative beauty I find in
the simplest forms.