Shuttered Light: Albert Yuk's Photography Exhibition

THIJS WITTINK/DEERFIELD SCROLL

On April 12, the Reed Gallery held the opening reception for Shuttered Light by Albert Yuk ’26. Composed of a collection of photographs, the exhibition invites viewers to consider the biases and authenticity of what the media chooses to portray.

From the direction of the Concert Hall, the first photographs showcase a film set in Beijing, deliberately staged to simulate a real-life war scene. However, as viewers move through the gallery, the scenes behind the photographs shift toward documenting real wartime environments in Israel and Iran.

By contrasting staged war scenes with real ones, Yuk uses the exhibition to convey the presence of media bias. “It was my intention to make that distinction confusing, because in the modern world, media kind of skews that portrayal, and it doesn't really portray these things accurately themselves,” said Yuk. 

The scope of Yuk’s photography extends beyond the exhibition itself and encompasses his travels to Israel, Iran, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, and more. Starting in the winter of his sophomore year, Yuk began working for Liu Heung Shing, a Chinese photojournalist who won the 1992 Spot News Pulitzer Prize. During breaks from school, Yuk traveled to the Middle East, where he photographed from the front lines of active conflict zones.

Despite his commitment to photography, Yuk’s artistic journey began under the influence of his eldest brother Alan, a sculptor and painter. “I feel like I got exposure to the arts at a very early age because of that,” said Yuk, who originally followed in his brother's footsteps and painted for 8 years. Yuk, however, expressed that he hated drawing and painting, describing them as “boring,” and instead chose to pursue photography, “a route that [he] liked” due to the movement and storytelling it allows.

In his gallery, Yuk sought to capture the story of freedom and liberty in a photograph entitled “Intersection of Tradition and Modernity,” his personal favorite. The photograph depicts a man suspended in a crane, looming over the Freedom Tower in Iran. Constructed in 1971, the tower was built prior to the start of the Iranian Revolution in 1978. To Yuk, who believed that individuals had greater liberty before the revolution, “it’s just really interesting to see the Freedom Tower in a composition that is being caged with clouds in the background.” He further elaborated on the piece's symbolism, explaining that the scene represents “freedom and liberty being caged.”

Although Yuk aimed to depict symbolic moments in his photographs, he also documented ordinary scenes from day-to-day life. Yuk referenced a photograph entitled “Warrior’s Respite,” which depicts a woman sitting outside a kitchen while a man cooks inside. “My mom said that this was her favorite piece,” he noted, “because she liked the fact that the man, instead of a woman, was cooking in the kitchen.” His mother’s interpretation aligned with Yuk’s intention when capturing the photo, which also aimed to convey the underrepresentation of women fighting in war.

Though Yuk’s photographs engage with ideas of media bias, their selection and arrangement for the gallery were originally unplanned. “I definitely wouldn’t say that I took these photos for a gallery, but rather how I configured them in such a way that made sense for a gallery,” said Yuk when commenting on the construction process.

Throughout the process of assembling Shuttered Light and Yuk’s time at Deerfield, Visual and Performing Arts teacher Tim Trelease has supported Yuk as one of his four-year students. From studying Intro to Photography and Filmmaking during his freshman year to serving as a teaching assistant for the AP Photography class, Yuk has worked with Mr. Trelease throughout the different phases of his artistic journey.

Beyond teaching him technical skills, Mr. Trelease has also encouraged Yuk to experiment with filmmaking and other forms of photography that were previously new to him.

Yuk’s experience studying photography at Deerfield, coupled with his experience living in Hong Kong and Shanghai, has made him increasingly aware of what he described as a veil of misinformation throughout the media. Through this assembled series, Yuk said in reflection, “I was trying to convey that veil and make people more aware of how present that veil can be.”