Lets talk about Jimin's insta photo 11.3.26
In BTS and in the broader world of entertainment, fashion, culture, and aesthetics Jimin keeps showing up in new and different ways. After 13 years in the public eye he's still able to surprise us and that's quite a feat.
But more important than his visual inventiveness and risk taking, is how he creates space for himself and proclaims his truth, loudly when necessary.
His appearance at the Fashion Week Dior show (and at the airport on his way to Paris) spoke volumes about how he reacts to external attempts to control him.
First the open shirt exposing his chest and shoulders - noteworthy (scandalous even) because he was not on stage performing but rather walking through a crowded airport in broad daylight. Then the bare torso under that perfectly tailored suit with enough jewellery to lift the price of gold. He dominated socials and news sites for days as he knew he would.
Park Jimin said jump, and the world did exactly as he expected.
Another recent example: that moment in the recent GQ video 'It's Really Us' when Jimin took over the conversation about JK and V doing a dance challenge. No subtlety, and no fucks to give.
First he turned the situation around, dismissing the original question and suggesting himself and Hobi should do the dance challenge. Once that was established he coolly declared that JK and V would do one, as though it is Park Jimin who decides these things and nobody else.
He really put that request to bed in the most unbothered but assertive way while reiterating - for everyone watching - that there's absolutely no drama between himself, Tae and JK.
Jimin is giving us a masterclass in taking control of the narrative.
Post military service Jimin definitely has a quiet authority that I haven't seen before. This has been on my mind lately, and I know I'm not alone.
I'm not saying he never took the lead or stood his ground, he definitely did. But what we are seeing now is articulation, assurance, and a fundamental self belief.
What both of those previous examples demonstrate is that Jimin isn't letting anyone or anything push him in a direction he doesn't want to go.
Maybe it's age and maturity, or maybe it's blowing shit up with a 47 ton armoured cannon that has given him a new perspective. Either way, coupled with his characteristically unwavering determination, I think Park Jimin is going to do whatever the fuck he wants from now on.
At first glance this photograph doesn't seem like something that could start a revolution but the more you look, the more you see. Where Jimin was loud and shameless before, he is now subtle but resolute.
This is a story told through multiple layers, drawing you inwards like a Fibonacci spiral* and once you reach the centre the message is so clear you can't unsee it.
Look at the way he's structured the composition:
There are two distinct parts to this photograph:
What's happening inside the frame of the wing mirror and what's happening outside the frame of the wing mirror.
Outside the frame is a bland, uninspiring landscape with no visible point of interest. It's essentially negative space, the only purpose it serves is to provide a backdrop for what we see reflected in that wing mirror:
This is where it gets interesting.
Inside the wing mirror frame, he's fragmented the image even more using the heavy black lines of the car door panels, the back passenger window, and the frame of his open window.
His composition cuts the real estate of the photograph down dramatically, creating an intimate little portal through which we can engage with the subject of the photograph.
At this point you'd be forgiven for assuming that Jimin himself is that subject. Alas he is not, and nor is he the focal point.
So what is the (focal) point?
It's the phone, of course.
The phone is closest to the viewer and in the dead centre of the image. It's also in the sharpest focus.
As an aside (if you know this already go ahead and skip past) usually to create an image with artistic interest and provide a rewarding experience for the viewer, you cut your composition into thirds and place the subject off centre so that the viewer's eye must travel from its landing point - the centre of the image - and discover the subject. The act of discovery rewards the viewer with visual or conceptual stimulation, and as a bonus you get a little hit of dopamine because you won!
But Jimin isn't aiming for artistic interest or discovery. He's aiming for obvious (bit still somehow subtle).
Looking at the photo, our eye automatically lands in the centre of the image and... congratulations, you found it! No discovery needed.
But even when our attention is drawn to Jimin, because of course we are going to look at him, his eyes lead us back to the phone.
He's not engaging with us at all in this photo. Nor is he looking demure with eyes downcast. Nor is he looking mysteriously out of the frame at something we can't see.
He's looking at the phone. And so should we be. That's what he wants.
But wait, there's more ...
He's framed himself and the phone in this intimate space and we have access to this little window into Jimin's world... but we aren't invited inside.
He allows us to see what he's showing us. And what he's showing us is the phone. His hand brings the phone into the foreground. He holds it right up to that hard boundary that we aren't allowed to cross. The phone rests on the window's edge while Jimin himself he stays passively inside the car and in the background.
And of course (as he reminds us with the caption) he's wearing glasses. More framing, plus their round shape mirrors the lenses of the phone camera.
And if you look carefully, its the camera lenses specifically that are the subject. The lenses are dead centre of the image and in the highest focus.
Because it's the camera lenses that are most important.
As we all know, its the camera lenses that identify this as an iPhone.
The white case tells us this is Jungkook's iPhone.
And that is the entire point of this photograph.
eta... They stayed quiet before, but I don't think they will any longer. I think regardless of, or sometimes as a response to the rumours, criticisms, and assumptions made about both of these men, they will speak more freely and live as they please.
I can't wait to see what happens next.
If you're doubtful, just remember that Jimin is primarily a dancer. He knows how to hide, how to reveal, how to invite your gaze and how to avoid it. He knows how to draw the eye, how to redirect attention, and how to create a visual message. Everything he shows us is a choice. He's been controlling what we see and how we see it for over a decade.
This is child's play for him.
*He knows the Fibonacci concept well. Besides being a math genius and an aesthetic expert, he used it in the choreo for Set Me Free.
