JE BAAKPEtitio PrinciPii

Petitio PrinciPii

the focal point of Baak’s ar tistic endeavour is an engagement with the viewer and the spiritual practices of Zen

Buddhism. this exhibition is a collection of his most recent work in the form of three series entitled, Petitio Principii,

the complex Question Fallacy, and tautology. Each of the works calls for a careful investigation, as not everything

is the way it seems at first sight. Baak introduces familiar objects or situations in an unusual circumstance or setting.

He intentionally plays on the viewer’s preconceived expectations and inver ts them to create a new situation to

allow the viewer to gain a new perspective. A focal presence in his works is absence, and the viewer’s recognition

of this absence, which makes this absence a presence through the viewer’s acknowledgement of it. For example,

Baak’s piece from 2009 Gong 1, a video work featuring a football match where the ball, the essential object in the

game, had been deleted from the screen. through the absence of the ball, the viewer became aware of its vital

impor tance.

Je Baak is a well-known video ar tist, however in this exhibition he explores a depar ture from his chosen medium

to delve into photography and mixed media sculpture. the consistency of his oeuvre lies not within the medium,

as with the practice of many other ar tists, but in the message his works convey and the necessity of viewer

par ticipation. Similarly, in this exhibition the three series of works, although differing in medium, are unified by

theme and titles. Je Baak chose three philosophical principles, whose verbosity obscures and obstructs one’s path

to understanding. Baak requires the viewer to take a closer look at the works and seek what is missing.

Petitio Principii: a logical fallacy in which a premise is assumed to be true without warrant or in which what is to

be proved is implicitly taken for granted1.

Each series visualizes the philosophical principle of the title. Petitio Principii is comprised of giclee prints displaying

photographs taken of Mondrian paintings from different perspectives. Baak shot them from the left, right, the

bottom, the top, all views except the front. in Petitio Principii Baak documents the act of looking at a painting,

an action usually under taken by the viewer not the ar tist. By photographing Mondrian’s paintings from different

viewpoints Baak attempts to alter their rigid structure, however ultimately by re-combining his photographs he is

left with another grid-like formation. Fur thermore, through this repetition of shots to an end product, the individual

perspectives and positions of the viewer looking at the painting are lost and thereby the viewer is eradicated.

tautology: a statement that is always true, especially a truth-fictional expression that takes the value true for all

combinations of values of its components2.

1. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/petitio%20principii, (consulted 11, July, 2012)2. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/tautology, (consulted 11, July, 2012)

02 | 03

04 | 05

tautology consists of x-shaped photographs of people blinking. Baak juxtaposes various meanings the blinking of

an eye can express. it can display the banality of an everyday action or a moment of enlightenment. the medium

of photography freezes this moment in time. the x-framing and repetition of the subjects ensures their anonymity

creating merely a pattern.

the complex Question of Fallacy: when a question is asked that rests on a questionable assumption, and to which

all answers appear to endorse that assumption3.

in the complex Question Fallacy Baak comments on symbols of absolute value. By sanding and bleaching notes of

money, until they become mere pieces of paper and then utilizing them to cover religious statues, Baak questions

the validity of our highest secular and religious symbols. He exposes these objects’ man-made qualities and the

viewer’s capability to revere secular and religious symbols to the same extent obstructing his path to enlightenment.

in each work Baak offers a visual exploration that is complemented by a spiritual introspection by the viewer, whose

par ticipation is elemental to the essence fo the work. through cleverly chosen titles Baak presents the fallacies

created by language and urges the viewer to free himself of these constraints in the search for absolute truth.

Je Baak (b. 1978) currently lives and works in Korea. He received his BFA in Visual communication from Seoul

national University, Seoul in 2003 and completed his MA at the royal college of Ar t in London in 2010. Baak has

widely been exhibited in the Korea and the UK and won the chris Ganrham Memorial Award, royal college of

Ar t, 2010.

3. http://www.logicalfallacies.info/presumption/complex-question/, (consulted 11, July, 2012)

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Petitio PrinciPii

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Petitio Pr incipii 002 | 90 x 150 cm | Giclée pr ints in ir regular square frames with glass | 2012

08 | 09

Petitio Pr incipii 003 | 275 x 200 cm | Giclée pr ints in ir regular square frames with glass | 2012

10 | 11

Petitio Pr incipii 006 150 x 200 cmGiclée pr ints in ir regular square frames with glass 2012

12 | 13

Petitio Pr incipii 009 | 190 x 120 cm | Giclée pr ints in ir regular square frames with glass | 2012

14 | 15

Petitio Pr incipii 001 | 180 x 150 cm | Giclée pr ints in ir regular square frames with glass | 2012

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the comPlex Question Fallacy

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the complex Question Fallacy 001 | 80x50x35 cm | sanded and bleached money on statue of Venus | 2012

18 | 19

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20 | 21

the complex Question Fallacy 002 | 75x65x35 cm | sanded and bleached money on statue of Ares | 2012

the complex Question Fallacy 005 | 110x60x15 cm | sanded and bleached money on statue of crucifix | 2012

22 | 23

the complex Question Fallacy 006 | 120x45x40 cm | sanded and bleached money on statue of the Virgin Mar y | 2012

24 | 25

The Complex Question Fallacy 007 | 115x75x70 cm | sanded and bleached money on statue of Seated Śukyamuni | 2012

26 | 27

the complex Question Fallacy 008 | 90x40x50 cm | sanded and bleached money on statue of Seated Maitreya in Meditation | 2012

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tautology

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tautology 001 | 180 x 180 cm | digital c-pr int on x-shaped frame | 2012

30 | 31

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32 | 33

tautology 002 | 2 180 x 360 cm | digital c-pr int on 2 x-shaped frames | 2012

tautology 003 | 3 180 x 540 cm | digital c-pr int on 3 x-shaped frames | 2012

34 | 35

tautology 004 | 3 180 x 540 cm | digital c-pr int on 3 x-shaped frames | 2012

36 | 37

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Je BaaK (b.1978)

EDUcAtion

2010 MA, communication Ar t & Design, royal college of Ar t, London, UK

2003 BFA, Visual communication, Seoul national University, Seoul, Korea, Honor graduate

SELEctED SoLo EXHiBitionS

2012 Hada contemporary, London, UK

2011 “Gong”, Soomdo, Seoul, Korea

2010 “Prelude”, Ar t club 1563 by SUUM, Seoul, Korea

SELEctED GroUP EXHiBitionS (since 2009)

2012 “Korean Eye”, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK

“When i spoke its name, it came to me and became a flower”, Paris, France

“Solid illusion”, Seoul Ar ts center, Seoul, Korea

“Korean collective 2012”, HADA contemporary, London, UK

“4482 : Map the Korea”, Barge House, oxo tour, London, UK

“As Small as a World and Large as Alone”, Gallery Hyundai, Seoul, Korea

“Life, no Peace, only Adventure”, Busan Museum of Ar t, Busan, Korea

“Belt Selected Ar tist”, Ar tside, Seoul, Korea

2011 “More than tastes”, Ar t Space Hue, Seoul, Korea

“point against point”, Ar ti et Amicitae, Amsterdam, netherland

2010 “the Garden which has two roads never meet each other”,

Museum of Ar t in Seoul national University, Seoul, Korea

Screening, Seoul Square, Seoul, Korea

“the Plaza Principle”, the Leeds Shopping Plaza, Leeds, UK

Moving image for London Fashion Week, Eun Jeong S/S Presentation

“Wonder room”, Selfridges, London, UK

“Akwaaba Astronomy, Launchpad city”, Science Museum, London, UK

“Acoustic images”, British Film institute, London, UK

“Joongang Fine Ar ts Prize - Selected Ar tist Exhibition”, Seoul Ar ts center, Seoul, Korea

Degree Show, royal college of Ar t, London, UK

“Present from the past”, Korean cultural centre, London, UK

“4482”, Barge House, oxo tour, London, UK

“Wrong Love”, A Foundation, Liverpool, UK

2009 “Work in Progress Show”, royal college of Ar t, London, UK

“the cube”, Hockney Gallery, royal college of Ar t, London, UK

“cross Fields”, Korean cultural centre, London, UK

“Acoustic images 2009”, 29 thurloe Place, London, UK

“on the edge of Life”, Bath international Music Festival, Bath, UK

this catalogue is published by HADA contemporary to accompany the exhibition:

Je BaaK solo exhiBition

2 - 25 august 2012

no part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any mean, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without prior written permission from HADA contemporary Ltd.