BIOGRAPHY
haneu(l) bak was born and raised in the cities of South Korea. They spent the first twenty years of life in various places in their home country, widening their perspective as a student and an artist. In 2015, they partook in the production of two independent short films as the assistant director. They moved to USA for school shortly after, and studied Western Classics with a focus on philosophy and writing. During this time, they grew interest in creative writing and multimedia arts. They now study Design and Technology at Parsons School of Design, and Screen Studies at Eugene Lang Liberal Arts College. Their creative process primarily involves video, sound, and writing.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I can never express myself perfectly. There are only better or worse versions of expressions, which I aim to create perfect. It took me long to realize the imperfect nature of self-expression, and a little longer to accept it. But it was not until I began to appreciate such fate of creative process that I grew serious about creating art. As much as I don’t know about others, the world, and the universe, I don’t understand my “self.” Why would I ever expect myself to perfectly express my self when I don’t even understand it?
My work circulates around two major mysteries: self and universe. I visualize my relationship to my self, my environment, the world, and use various media to reflect contemplations. I depict myself and my stories in films, videos, photographs, and installation. I write simple and poetic proses that strive to present how I feel and think in the universe called my self. A self is a universe. I aim to artfully capture precious moments in that universe. In that sense, I struggle to be an accurate artist.
A universe consistently and persistently burns planets to light itself, to shine. I want my creations to be lights from dying and birthing stars. I aim to be an actively alive universe in this sea of universes.
My selected photographic works are on the following website:
My recent self-portraits:
based, 2018
Are They Some Body, 2017