WWNN
presents its 19th exhibition, 《FACTORS》, a solo show by artist Jo Jae.
On
the Meaning of 'Factors'
The
current moment is shaped by the diversified media landscape born from the
acceleration of technological development—this, in turn, becomes a significant
factor in shaping contemporary modes of thought and attitude. These expanding
and multiplying 'factors' of our environment are both outcomes of change and,
at once, necessary and suicient conditions that symbolise the normative
structure of a given era. As such, these 'factors' occupy a dual role:
passively, as tangible outcomes, and actively, as central agents of form and
meaning within broader cultural categories.
From
this, we can infer that contemporary 'factors' establish their validity both
objectively and subjectively, whether in the realm of reason and metaphysics or
in that of emotion and sensation. As technological vectors increasingly
accelerate the attributes of the subject, the presence of the object becomes
ever more tenuous. And yet, the subject cannot exist independently of the
object—a foundational inter- dependence that compels us to negotiate the
extremes and contradictions of contemporary life in pursuit of systemic
stability. Within this overwhelming entangle- ment of myriad forms and
phenomena, we are once again called to reflect upon the essence of existence.
Jo
Jae's artistic practice responds to this rapidly transforming spatiotemporal
condition with a distinctly perceptive and, at times, transcendent
sensitivity—envi- sioning a newly imagined space-time. His inquiry, rooted in
technological progress, is directed towards the various 'factors' that compose
our contemporary social fabric, while simultaneously casting light upon the
thought processes of those who generate such conditions. In this light, the
artist actively engages with the medium of art as an aesthetic instrument that
navigates between the material real and the transcendent imaginary—a tool to
perform and reflect upon the very notion of contemporary 'reality'.
Jo
Jae's solo exhibition FACTORS (WWNN, 2025) attempts to depict the structures
and orders of our shared society—now diicult to define within conventional
systems of meaning. His inquiry manifests in the visual language of the
exhibition, which presents images composed across planes. Where previously his
work emerged from the overlapping of bodily gestures with the mechanical
interactions of the digital age—resulting in spontaneously formed
iconographies—this exhibition foregrounds the image itself as a shared mode of
thinking. By positioning the viewer as a subject equally implicated in the
currents of contemporary life, the artist elevates this collective mode of
cognition into what he calls an "Imagery Form."
In
doing so, Jo synthesises digital, semi-abstract printed images rendered through
computer-based processes with analogue, hand-drawn elements, combining these
seemingly oppositional modalities into singular, unified compositions. These
elements are mediated through translucent layers of colour—simultaneously
revealing and concealing their material properties—forming the highest tier of
his pictorial surface. Through this symbolic stratification, Jo articulates a
vision of systemic operation. The phrase the artist borrows—"On
Cooldown"—may be understood as a reflection of this constant flux in which
everything is in a state of becoming. It suggests a necessary delay: a pause
required to ensure a minimum level of stability within an ever-operating
system. In this space between adaptation and progression, Jo Jae's images pose
a question to us all: through what manner of thought will we respond to this
reality?
