Art exhibitions stand as records of truth

By Ines Min

In a modern era where much of society feels uneasy about the information they are fed ― whether from the media or other sources ― methods of self-investigation and recording have come into vogue not only in the form of blogs and citizen journalism, but through artwork as well.

Gallery Hyundai 16 Bungee, the PKM Gallery and Bartleby Bickle & Meursault are holding two solo exhibitions by artists who tackle information, recording and awareness.

`Earth Report’

Zin Ki-jong is holding his second solo exhibition in Korea through Sept. 19, at the Gallery Hyundai 16 Bungee, central Seoul.

The 29-year-old artist, who stole the spotlight in 2008 for his explosive commentary on the media’s war coverage, ``On Air,’’ previously participated in group shows such as the Young Korean Artists at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Gwacheon, but his sophomore attempt takes an entirely new turn from the technology-based form of that artwork ― in dioramas.

``When you go to a museum, you see dioramas of Indians fighting and dinosaurs,’’ Zin told reporters at a conference. ``I borrowed that method to create a kind of record.’’

Using classic works to create a black comedy of political commentary, Zin provides minute, meticulous details into his works that are frozen in time.

``Slaves in the Gulf’’ takes from the piece ``Barge Haulers on the Volga,’’ by Russian realist painter Ilya Repin, substituting the head laborers with the likenesses of Saddam Hussein, George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden. Their burden has been transformed into a Shell oil tanker and, on closer inspection, a tiny laptop displaying stock charts for oil can be seen.

An oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, deforestation in the Amazon, melting ice caps in the Greenland Sea, the artist jumps from issue to issue, with his 3D works standing as a memorial to the events of modern time, including two sculptures of real-life figures.

``Children 001,’’ is the head of a Chinese baby, who was born with a facial cleft, while ``Gold Fish’’ portrays a mutant, two-headed animal.

Zin’s ``Earth Report’’ works as snapshots of happenings across the globe. At the same time, he refrains from blatant criticism, offering the idea instead that awareness and individual action within one’s environment is the most vital. A parting quote from one of Zin’s works comes from Irish writer Samuel Lover: ``Circumstances are the rulers of the weak, instruments of the wise.’’ For more information, visit www.16bungee.com.

`Autonumina’

Bae Young-whan, a veteran in the art world, is holding a solo exhibition through Oct. 1 at the PKM Gallery and Bartleby Bickle & Meursault, central Seoul.

Bae, who has previously participated in the Venice and Gwangju Biennales as well as featured in both alternative and commercial art spaces, makes a return to his roots in Oriental paintings by taking on the concept of ``landscape’’ through the most important expanse: his own brainwaves.

Using EEG scans of his thoughts, Bae created a series of ceramic maps, the inclines and angles echoing the patterns of his mind, recalling the curves of the landscape so often depicted in traditional Korean paintings.

The works, glazed in a soft pastel blue, line shallow wooden shelves in the exhibition space, proudly displayed as lines upon lines of data. Formed by the nimble movements of the artist’s hands, the random, abstract peaks dimpled by thumbs and fingers evince a sense of controlled white noise.

And, as created from Bae’s subconscious, the works set in upon themselves in a form of introspection. The exhibition’s title comes from the word ``numinous,’’ a concept formed by the German theologian Rudolf Otto. Referring to a religious experience that is characterized by the simultaneous reaction of fear and attraction, Bae looks to take it one step further.

``Autonumina’’ is an impressive endeavor to create circumstances that propel the numinous on its own, as opposed to an outside divinity; an independent task that might speak of another concept as well ― self-reliance. From the first step of recording his personal wavelengths, to the execution of his work to incite a wholly intimate, individual experience, Bae searches for the divine, the awe, the mountains and valleys of the earth in one place: himself.

For more information, visit www.pkmgallery.com.