[K-ART FOCUS] For Ba He-jum, bitcoin and breastfeeding are not so far apart

Editor’s note

This is the second in a series spotlighting Korean artists whose distinct creative worlds are coming into focus in the country’s vibrant autumn art season. —ED.

What do cryptocurrency charts, breastfeeding and mother conches have in common?

For Korean painter Ba He-jum, the answer is not merely an unlikely combination. It is an invitation to look again at the abstract forces already shaping everyday life.

In her recent solo exhibition, “Awakened,” Ba brings together the fluctuating lines of crypto markets, the unruly physicality of milk and pregnancy, and the mysteries of ocean. The show, presented by Italian gallery MASSIMODECARLO at Mahkjip, a hanok-based space in Seoul’s Samcheong neighborhood, ran from Aug. 29 through Sept. 5 during Seoul Art Week.

It marked Ba’s first solo exhibition in Seoul since joining the gallery’s roster last year. The show featured eight new paintings, including “Milk of a Bitcoiner-Mother” (2026), “There Is an Ocean in the Pregnant Belly” (2024-2026) and “I Envy the Mother Conches” (2026).

Finding a common theme in unlikely combinations defines her identity as an artist.

Born in Seoul in 1987, Ba studied painting and printmaking at Ewha Womans University and at the State Academy of Art and Design Stuttgart.