"Variable Installation, Iron, Zelkova Tree, 2026"

Sculptor Bae Byeong-hee's solo exhibition 'BODY.LOG' will be held from the 5th to the 22nd at the Seoul Branch of the Jeonbuk Provincial Museum of Art in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Bae Byeong-hee has been exploring the fatigue and instability of the middle class in capitalist society, living in contemporary urban civilization and systems. Based on woodwork, the artist combines various media such as objects, videos, and sound to symbolically reveal moments of collision and compromise of survival instincts in urban society.

This exhibition presents the harsh process of relentlessly pursuing results without time to contemplate modern society in the format of an editing record called 'BODY.LOG.' While in the past, experiences and beliefs accumulated depth like aging wine, rapidly changing modern society prioritizes speed and efficiency. The artist states that in order to adapt faster to society, they are practicing the 'Lightness Protocol,' which involves shaving off parts of oneself, and visualizes this in a sculptural language.

The new series presented at the exhibition places wooden sculptures on a cold iron base plate and a thick iron bar structure, revealing the physical coercion of the body being fixed within the social system. By visualizing the ruthless social system that one must rely on for survival, the artist exposes our precarious existence in modern society.

Additionally, the exhibition showcases sawdust and wood fragments generated during the creative process alongside the artworks. The sawdust and fragments left on the floor function as traces of the 'violence of lightness' mentioned by the artist, rather than mere byproducts of the work. They represent the material traces of time, experiences, and beliefs that have been removed and eliminated to live in the efficient and adaptive society.

Bae Byeong-hee's work in this exhibition explores how beings constantly demanded to function in an accelerated environment have undergone what kind of cutting and adjustment to reach their current state. It can be seen as an attempt to recall the forgotten 'value of absence' in the era of speed and efficiency, recording the conditions of contemporary bodies that have adapted to society through sculpture, action, and their traces, and presenting the process itself as a sensory log (BODY.LOG).

The Jeonbuk Provincial Museum of Art operates the Seoul Branch to share the experimental and formal depth of contemporary Jeonbuk art with viewers in Seoul and the metropolitan area. The exhibition is open every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., except for Mondays, and admission is free.