For the past 12 years, I have tried to share moments beyond the dramatized images of battlefield action, emotional homecomings, and veterans in crisis. I’ve photographed the often-overlooked everyday moments that make up this military life. The constant moves and goodbyes. Objects that make up this life that don’t exist in civilian domestic spaces. The days after a deployment, when a service member “re-integrates” back into the family and into civilian society. In this work, I capture this final transition out of the military because it’s not just John who is leaving this life. It’s me and the kids, too. What’s also different for John is that, after 24 years as an infantryman in the Army, he is beginning therapy for the first time in his life. He is allowing himself to process his combat deployments. John’s career spanned the entirety of the 20-year “war on terror.” Service members would often return home only to find that many people were unaware of what they had just been through. I used to be one of those people until I met John, which was in the summer of 2011. Over the years, little by little, I have come to know the depth of his experiences and his trauma. It has followed John home, into his dreams when he shouts about helicopters and escape routes. I want to press fast-forward on his healing, but I know it is only John who can commit himself to it. And whatever course he takes, it will still be a lifelong journey. But we can help shoulder that burden.
Artist Bios
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Arin Yoon
Arin Yoon is a Korean American documentary photographer and National Geographic Explorer based in Kansas City. Her work focuses on the military community, trauma and healing, notions of family, women and issues of identity and representation. Yoon’s personal work has been featured in National Geographic, NPR, CNN and The New York Times. Her multimedia project, www.tobeatwar.com, which examines the lasting impacts of war through first person narratives from members of the post-9/11 military community, received the 2025 Best of Photojournalism Award- First Place in the Online Video, Presentation and Innovation- Innovation category. The story featured here, ‘The scars of war,’ won First Place in the 2025 Online Story of the Year from Pictures of the Year International. Her work is a part of the public collection at The Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University. She has exhibited at venues such as the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History in Seoul and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Yoon has an MFA in Photography, Video and Related Media from the School of Visual Arts and a BA in Political Science & English Language and Literature from The University of Chicago. See more of her work at www.arinyoon.com.
Organizations
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Photoville
Founded in 2011 in Brooklyn, NY, Photoville was built on the principles of addressing cultural equity and inclusion, which we are always striving for, by ensuring that the artists we exhibit are diverse in gender, class, and race.
In pursuit of its mission, Photoville produces an annual, city-wide open air photography festival in New York City, a wide range of free educational community initiatives, and a nationwide program of public art exhibitions.
By activating public spaces, amplifying visual storytellers, and creating unique and highly innovative exhibition and programming environments, we join the cause of nurturing a new lens of representation.
Through creative partnerships with festivals, city agencies, and other nonprofit organizations, Photoville offers visual storytellers, educators, and students financial support, mentorship, and promotional & production resources, on a range of exhibition opportunities.
For more information about Photoville visit, www.photoville.com
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National Endowment for the Arts
The Scars of War
Featuring: Arin Yoon
Curated by: Laura Oliverio Brett Roegiers
Locations
View Location Details Download a detailed map of this location Brooklyn Bridge Park – Emily Warren Roebling Plaza1 Water St
Brooklyn, NY 11201
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The views and opinions expressed in this exhibit are those of the exhibition artists and partners and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Photoville or any other participants and partners of the Photoville Festival.
This project is supported, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts.
