Emerging Photographer: Sanghyuk Yoon

Sanghyuk Yoon, a South Korean photographer who is working on an M.F.A. at the School of Visual Arts, has spent much of the past year photographing plants and outdoor scenes around Manhattan, the outer boroughs, and New Jersey. Yoon told me that when he first saw Stuyvesant Town, in Manhattan, he was “struck by the sense of oasis within the chaos of the city. The fountains, the manicured lawns, the well-maintained flower beds. It reminded me of the artificial, hidden world of ‘The Truman Show.’ ” Yoon says that he was continually reminded of the different ways that the relationship between natural life and urban life is understood. “In the West, nature provides an escape for humans, and is treated almost as a commodity, whereas in the East, traditionally, humans are expected to live in harmony with natural ecosystems, and not to influence the way in which they grow or exist,” he said.

Although some of Yoon’s photographs highlight instances in which the re-creation of a natural environment falls short—such as his image of a lone polar bear’s bleak enclosure—other images serve as reminders of how even the smallest natural area is a vital part of the city.