‘A LOT OF FIRST TIMES’ is a visual diary born from years of creative ping-pong between Brussels-based photographer Yaqine Hamzaoui and Seoul-based visual director MIABAK.

Introduced by a mutual friend (Pippin) in 2019, they began a bold and intuitive art collaboration that stretched across the distance between Belgium and Seoul. After Mia returned to Korea, Yaqine came across one of her drawings on Instagram and spontaneously suggested, “Let’s make a book together.” In the first place, there was no concept, no deadline but only emotion and instinct.

Yaqine’s early analog photographs (2016–2020) captured her relationships with friends and the honest emotions of everyday life. Over these images, Mia layered drawings and collages, adding new perspectives that blurred the boundaries between analog and digital. Their sensibilities intertwined in the way of interrupting, responding, and harmonizing until the pages became a form of organic visual diary.

Honestly, the process was far from smooth. Work, love, friendship, and even the disruptions of the pandemic repeatedly brought the project to a halt. What began at a distance between two strangers gradually revealed unexpected limits.

Since that first encounter, they met in person only twice: once in Seoul, and finally in Belgium. The project ultimately concluded with an independently published book and a two-day release event, closing one chapter of their shared story.

During the talk session at the release event, an audience member asked:

“Did your relationship change after this project?”

Every moment is like an imperfect and dynamic jazz riff. Their relationship keeps evolving like that. And always will.

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A LOT OF FIRST TIMES BY YAQINE HAMZAOUI X MIA BAK 6 YEARS OF VERY ROUGH AND ORGANIC COLLABORATION