Jaka Babnik, rođen 1979. u Ljubljani, Slovenija, diplomirao je kulturnu sociologiju i povijest na Sveučilištu u Ljubljani. Od 1998. do 2006. radio je kao fotograf i urednik fotografije za skateboard magazin Pendrek. Napisao je i režirao nekoliko renomiranih slovenskih filmova o skateboardu, poput Damage (2002.) i Listen to Srečna Mladina (2006.). Godine 2006. suosnivač je transbalkanskog uličnog časopisa Kontejner, te ostaje njegov urednik do 2009. Godine 2007. okreće se raznolikijim žanrovima fotografske prakse; postaje profesionalni fotograf, uglavnom surađujući s institucijama i individualnim umjetnicima pri čemu se istovremeno sve izrazitije bavi fotografijom kao umjetničkom formom. 2009. je objavio i izložio We Are Dogs!, seriju fotografija koja ga je plasirala na drugo mjesto na Emzinovom izboru za fotografiju godine 2010. godine. Između 2012. i 2014. radio je na seriji koju je nazvao Jebodrom, koristeći više topografski, antropološki i istraživački pristup vlastitoj fotografiji. Između 2015. i 2017. radio je na dva različita projekta, Holy Land and Heroes of My Time, u kojima je fotografija korištena za istraživanje prešućenih povijesnih pojava i događaja. Za emisiju Pygmalion 2019. Babnik je koristio nekonvencionalan pristup koristeći mit o Pigmalionu kao okviru za traženje, dokumentiranje i prisvajanje različitih predmeta, koje karakterizira (bilo vizualno ili simbolički) aspekt stanja savršene ispunjenosti, dok istovremeno propituje odnos između objekta, fotografije (fotografiranog objekta) i promatrača. Osim umjetničkog i fotografskog rada, Babnik je i suosnivač i suvlasnik RostFrei Publishinga. Živi i radi u Ljubljani.
Jaka Babnik, born in Ljubljana, Slovenia in 1979, graduated in Cultural Sociology and History from the University of Ljubljana. From 1998 to 2006 he worked as a photographer and editor of photography for the skateboard magazine Pendrek. He wrote and directed several renowned Slovenian skateboard movies, such as Damage (2002) and Listen to Srečna Mladina (2006). In 2006 he co-founded the trans-Balkan street magazine Kontejner, and remained its editor until 2009. In 2007 he turned to more diverse genres of photographic practice; he became a professional photographer, mostly working with institutions and individual artists, while also becoming more distinctly involved with photography as an art form. In 2009 he published and exhibited We Are Dogs!, a series of photographs that led to his being awarded second place in the 2010 Emzin Photography of the Year competition. Between 2012 and 2014 he worked on a series that he called Jebodrom, taking a more topographical, anthropological and exploratory approach to his photography. Between 2015 and 2017 he worked on two different projects, Holy Land and Heroes of My Time, both of which used photography to explore silenced historic phenomena and events. For the 2019 show Pygmalion Babnik took the unconventional approach and adopted the myth of Pygmalion as a frame to search, document and appropriate different objects, that carry (either visually or symbolically) an aspect of the state of perfect fulfilment, while also questioning the relationship between the object, photography (photographed object) and the viewer. In addition to his artistic and photographic work, Babnik is also a co-founder and co-owner of RostFrei Publishing. He lives and works in Ljubljana.
Jaka Babnik
Stilske vježbe / Exsercises in Style, 2019. – 2021.
18 uokvirenih fotografija, arhivski pigmentni otisak na Hahnemühle fotopapiru Rag Baryta / 18 framed photographs, archival pigment print on Hahnemühle photo Rag Baryta papper
18 x 483 x 321 mm
Na neki način, ova je serija fotografija rezultat vježbi iz poznavanja teorije umjetnosti, što je neizostavan alat pri kreativnom radu unutar šireg polja vizualne kulture. Istovremeno, teorija umjetnosti temelj je za utvrđivanje pravila, obrazaca i formula koje umjetnici i stvaratelji, htjeli oni to ili ne, moraju slijediti jer su se pokazali učinkovitima. Stoga Babnik provodi umjetničko istraživanje u kojem se prvenstveno okreće samome sebi i vlastitoj vizualnoj percepciji. Time uspostavlja diskurs o ontologiji fotografije i vizualne kulture, istovremeno promatrajući znanje, iskustvo, naučenu estetiku, simbole i (pred)memoriju koji određuju svakog pojedinca i njegov ili njezin način konzumacije slika. Također se okreće (samo)ironiji i humoru, jer je sasvim svjestan da, koliko god se trudio, nije imun na vlastite naučene kulturne kodove koji duboko utječu na njegov rad, bilo da je riječ o umjetničkom stvaralaštvu ili komercijalnim projektima.
In a way, the series of photographs is a result of exercises in knowledge of art theory which is indispensable tool for creative work in the wider field of visual culture. At the same time, art theory is the foundation to determine rules, patterns and formulas that artists and creators, whether they like it or not, have to follow because they have been proven effective. Therefore, Babnik undertook artistic research in which he primarily turns to himself and his own visual perception. Thereby he establishes the discourse about the ontology of photography and visual culture, as well as he contemplates about knowledge, experience, cultivated aesthetic, symbols and (pre)memory that determine each individual and his or her way of consuming images. He also turns to (self)irony and humour as he is well aware that he can't be, however much he tries, exempt from his cultivated cultural code that deeply designates his work, be it artistic creation or commercial projects.
- iz izjave umjetnika / from the statement of the artist
