Transparent Study (2008-2014) is a history of communication through images. It’s a study that shows BANG & LEE’s “transparent” creative activities and researches on the whole history of art and media. Transparent Study is not an accumulation of answers about our relationship with medias, but a place for questions we can’t understand or solve. What we need is observation, self-reflection and conversation.

Trasparente Studio (2008-2014) è una storia della comunicazione per immagini. È uno studio che vuole mostrare le attività e le ricerche “trasparenti” di BANG & LEE sull’intera storia dell’arte e dei media. Trasparente Studio non è un ammasso di risposte sul nostro rapporto con i media, bensì un luogo dove porre quelle domande che non riusciamo a comprendere né a risolvere. Non ci serve altro che spirito di osservazione, autocritica e la capacità di discutere.

Transparent Study is a history about communication through images. It is a study that shows Bang & Lee’s ‘transparent’ creative activities and research on the whole history of art and media. The word ‘transparent’ denotes the artists’ process of research and contestation that leads to production and output, and the word ‘study’ refers to various meanings associated with learning. They present the archives of media history in a living room with a bookshelf - a familiar setting, as an old space for communication. The principles of fractal are thoroughly shown with various texts and images such as ‘elephant’ derived from a Chinese character ‘象’ that refers to an image to Sierpinski triangle, Harry Houdini who was a master of escape magic pulling the wool over the audiences’ eyes and Google’s big data. As a ‘transparency’ in society is doubted, big data and shared global information might cause distortions of the truth or meaningless information. Transparent Study reveals that a blueprint of modern media such as global networks and the data of shared information might be fake or dangerous as ‘images’ showing reality might be not real. It questions whether it is possible to build a friendship by using networks excessively, and to form a bond to connect in real time. It also asks us if we even need them or not. Even though the artwork is saying, ‘Do google’ or ‘Visit our website’ for further information, it is neither that ‘transparent’ nor ‘kind’. That is Transparent Study is not an accumulation of answers about a relationship with media, but a place for questions we cannot understand and solve.

Y.S.J.