Heaven BAEK

Heaven BAEK (b.1984) is an artist who weaves stories between people with a unique sense of witty expression. She deals with episodes between people and people, and the aspects of a society composed of individuals through various media such as video, photos, and performances. The artist sets up communicator and producer (audience and participant) in her work and makes the distinction between these two roles ambiguous through various devices in the process of completing the work. As a result, a passive audience transformed into an active participant and produced their own story based on a kind of consensus. The artist preparing a platform for the spectators to participate, leaving a space for them to be involved freely. Accordingly, the audiences move both inside and outside of the work. Through the process, BAEK tries to focus on how an individual’s thought and labor constitute the logic of the society which is surrounding us, and why the result of the process can never be perfect. Like this, Heaven BAEK’s work, which takes a few month to the long term, is based on a sense of community and closeness between the artist and the participants. She meets and accepts people, and takes time to wait for her to be accepted in a specific place or the community which is the source of the story she wants to deal with. The artist tries to bring out the stories of people who are more sincere and closer to the truth than the truth, and through the practice, the problem of a specific group is expanded metaphorically into a common story that all of us can sympathize with.

Heaven BAEK received B.F.A. in Media Art at RMIT University (Melbourne, Australia) in 2006, and M.F.A. at Glasgow School of Art (Glasgow, UK) in 2009. Since 2009, BAEK working based in multiple cities such as Korea, Dubai, and Berlin. The artist held solo exhibitions at Saro Leon Gallery (Las Palmas, Spain) in 2019, ARARIO Gallery I Seoul (Seoul, Korea) in 2017, Insa Art Space (Seoul, Korea) in 2013. Representative group exhibitions BAEK participated are include Sejong Art Center (Seoul, Korea), Bateau Lavoir (Paris, France) in 2019, Gwangju Biennale (Gwangju, Korea) in 2018, Korean Cultural Center in Vietnam (Hanoi, Vietnam) in 2017, Busan Museum of Art (Busan, Korea) in 2016, ARARIO Museum I Tapdong Bikeshop (Jeju, Korea), Arko Art Center (Seoul, Korea), National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Seoul, Korea) in 2015, Reid Gallery (Glasgow, UK) in 2014, Art Space Pool (Seoul, Korea) in 2012, and La Emita (Barcelona, Spain) in 2011. BAEK participated in various Residency programs such as Alserkal Avenue Residency (UAE) in 2020, MMCA Changdong Residency (Seoul, Korea) in 2018, MMCA Goyang Residency (Goyang, Korea) in 2015, SIM (The Association of Icelandic Visual Artists) Artist Residency (Reykjavik, Iceland) in 2013. Artist’s works are collected at numerous museums and collections which including Seoul Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Busan, ARARIO Museum, and Arko Museum Archive.