Drawing on personal experience and inspired by human anatomy and psychoanalytic theory, Minju Kim explores desire as the main subject matter alongside the concept of life and death.
In her theory, all things stem from desire and it varies depending on how the person’s desire appears. The human figure is a recurring theme and Kim’s obsession with the human body started when she was young after experiencing a rare body condition and medical examinations as part of her daily life. Human desire and body are related to birth till death and it is in a continuous loop. The physicality and fragility of the human body are the inevitable elements of life and Kim’s experimenting to embody the sublimation of the desire into perpetuity.
Self-taught or art school?
I had a long journey of studying and learning art; I went to art high school and studied sculpture, oriental painting, watercolour and visual design, then graduated print-making course in Hongik University, Seoul, S.Korea. To develop myself, I came to London and went to the Fashion direction course at London College of Fashion and then graduated MA Illustration at Camberwell College of Art in 2017.
If you could own one work of art what would it be?
Woman with Head of Roses by Salvador Dali.
How would you describe your style?
From Conceptual to Surrealism in between realistic to abstract.
Is narrative important within your work?
Yes! The human figure as a subject matter with the concept of desire, life and death in my art.
Who are your favourite artists and why?
Hans Bellmer, H.R. Giger, Matthew Barney, Lee Bul, Man Ray, Nobuyoshi Araki, James Jean and so on. They all dealt or are dealing with the human body as their theme; manipulating the images and scenes with their own unique vision.
What or who inspires your art?
My body and personal journeys. I tend to use my body as a reference to create my artwork as I suffered from long medical observation.
Where’s your studio and what’s it like?
My studio is in East London and it is surrounded by many interesting people with creative minds. I enjoy making artwork here.
Do you have any studio rituals?
Setting up all the materials on the desk and music then a nice cold beverage, then I’m good to go.
What are you working on currently?
I’m currently exploring oil and trying to mix with my usual medium which is acrylic paint.
Where can we buy your art?
Contacting me directly from my Instagram @minjukim_art or my website www.minjukim.co.uk
What are your ambitions?
I have a lot of ideas for the next project and then the next one, I hope I can achieve creating all.