![Ho Jun Ji, Washington 9-11, Pigment Print on Fine Art Paper, 57.1 x 116.1 in, 2013.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/artist_registry_gallery/public/content/artist-registry/images/Ho%20Jun%20Ji%2C%20Washington%209-11%2C%20Pigment%20Print%20on%20Fine%20Art%20Paper%2C%2057.1%20x%20116.1%20in%2C%202013.jpg?itok=pwFqC056)
Artists Registry
New York NY United States
Artist's Statement
At first glance Ho Jun Ji’s digital images may appear to be mere photographs, but upon further inspection the intricacies of his work are revealed. The viewer discovers that Ji is much more than an artist, but a scientist and perhaps, a philosopher. The microscope is his tool of choice to go beyond the limitation of human perception and to question what is understood as real and true.
The microscope has expanded the boundaries of flawed human vision. What is true and what is real is often defined as what is seen with the naked eye. But when viewed through a microscope, a once familiar object can suddenly become foreign. In Ho Jun Ji’s ‘Coin-cidence’ series, he enlarges a coin to the highest level of magnification, revealing a new and unfamiliar image. Ji was first attracted to the coin because of its familiarity. Our capitalist society makes currency and coins a necessary part of life. Coins are handled on a daily basis, and yet we often do not take the time to look at them because of their relatively small economic value. In spite of this, a coin wears on its façade a symbolic figure of society - an important character of history, an architectural work, or a cultural asset – reflecting the history and civilization of mankind. Ji overlaps the coins with pieces of newspaper articles. Newspapers are similar to coins in that they are made from a material that possesses little economic value, yet they transmit knowledge about important incidents and issues of their time, helping to form history. By combining newspaper articles and the coins in unconventional pairs, Ji endeavors to reconceptualize history. He juxtaposes newspaper headlines depicting the 9/11 tragedy with a magnified 25-cent coin that has a bent image of George Washington, next to the words, "In God We Trust." Ho Jun's works are not only aesthetically captivating, but also deeply reflexive and ironic. Through the odd pairings of images, Ho Jun rewrites history, reiterating the question: what is real and true?
Ho Jun’s work asks us to take a second look at the world around us, whether by looking at an object through a microscope or looking at history from a different point of view. When we do so, we find ourselves outside of our confined boundaries, accepting a different perspective of the world.
Ho Jun Ji was born in South Korea in 1980. Today, he works and lives in Seoul. He received his BS in Photography from the Sang Myun University in Seoul and his MS in Culture Technology from KAIST in Daejeon, Korea. He has been the recipient of many prizes, including the Grand Prize at the 11th Korean Advertisement Photo Contest in 2010 and the Grand Prize at the 8th Korean Fine Art Superior Artist Contest in 2008. Recent solo shows include two exhibitions in Seoul at the Jean Art Gallery and the Santorini Seoul, both in 2011. His work is part of several collections, the most notable being the Seoul Museum of Art.
Resume
Name-in-full: Ho Jun Ji
Born: South Korea
Lives: Seoul, South Korea
Education
2005 BS in Photography, Sang Myung University, Seoul, South Korea
2010 MS in Culture Technology, KAIST, Daejeon, South Korea
Prizes
2010 Today, Artist Prize (Photo-art)
2010 The 11th Korean Advertisement Photo Contest -Grand Prize (KAPA)
2010 The 1st Asian Pacific Print competition -Silver Prize
2008 The 8th Korea fine art superior artist - Grand prize
2005 Epson 2005 Asia Photo Contest - special prize
Solo Exhibition
2011 Jean Art Gallery, Seoul
2011 Santorini Seoul, Seoul
2009 Galerie Bhak, Seoul
2007 Modern Culture Center, Gyeonggi-do, Korea
2006 Insa Art Center B1,Seoul
Group Exhibition
2012 Korea Galleries Art Fair in Seoul(COEX)
2011 KIAF(Korea International Art Fair), COEX, Seoul
2011 'Picasso & Einstein 3.0', Seoul Arts Center, Seoul
2011 'Gallery Seoul 11', Jin Art Center, THE RAUM, Seoul
2011 'About Romance', Jin Art Center, Seoul
2011 KCAF(Korean Contemporary Art Festival) Ⅺ, Seoul Arts Center, Seoul
2011 Korea Galleries Art Fair in Seoul(COEX)
2010 'One Mount Wings', One Mount, Ilsan
2010 KCAF(Korean Contemporary Art Festival) Ⅹ, Seoul Arts Center, Seoul
2010 Korea Galleries Art Fair in Busan(BEXCO)
2010 New Breaking – New Breathing, Galerie, Seoul Vit, Seoul
2009 Next Generation Art Fair, Galerie Luminarie, Seoul
2009 Seoul International Print-Photo Art Fair, Galerie Bhak, Seoul Arts Center, Seoul
2009 KCAF(Korean Contemporary Art Festival) Ⅸ, Seoul Arts Center, Seoul
2009 Seoul Open Art Fair, Galerie Bhak, COEX, Seoul
2008 KCAF(Korean Contemporary Art Festival) Ⅷ, Seoul Arts Center, Seoul
2008 Seoul International Print-Photo Art Fair, Galerie Bhak, SeoulArtsCenter,Seoul
2008 Artists, What is a science for you?, National Museum of Contemporary Art
2007 KCAF(Korean Contemporary Art Festival) Ⅶ, Seoul Art Center, Seoul
2005 Preview, Gallery Photoland, Seoul
2005 Paris prospective artists exhibition, Galerie Etienne de Causans, Paris
Collections
Seoul Museum of Art
Hanjin Shipping Head Office
Samsung Medical Center
Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Turkey
Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
Consulate General of Switzerland