Interview with Minju Kim
Cluster Illustration is delighted to speak with Cluster exhibitor Minju Kim. Minju has recently been preparing to launch a new exhibition at Truman Brewery, which was due to open on the 8th October but has now been postponed until further noice due to the current Covid-19 Restrictions. The Void of Desire will be a project-based collaboration between Kim, who was born in South Korea and moved to London in 2013, and her partner, British artist Eugene Wood. Whether it’s now, 3 months time, 6 months time or in a years time - the Cluster Team is excited to see, in person, the amazing show that they both have worked so hard on with such passion.
The exhibition will offer an overview of Kim’s practice to date, and features paintings, drawings and sculpture she has created since 2012, allowing visitors an insight into her early journey as an artist, and her creative process across media. A multifaceted artist, Kim studied Printmaking at the College of Fine Art, Hongik University, Seoul; a BA in Creative Direction for Fashion at the London College of Fashion; and an MA in Illustration at Camberwell College of Art. She has previously exhibited in three Cluster Illustration shows, as well as with Cluster Photography, and has exhibited extensively in the UK, the USA, and South Korea.
Alongside earlier works, the project also explores both artists’ experience of lockdown, and includes paintings and sculptures created in response to this period of forced confinement, reflecting how they have grappled with their own anxieties, and of the wider world during the global pandemic, while also exchanging ideas and technical knowledge.
For Kim, lockdown represented a moment of solitude, but also intense reflection and focus. Her work investigates the interconnected themes of desire, mortality, and the human body, and is inspired by anatomy and psychoanalytic theory. Often taking the artist’s own body as its focus, Kim’s work has been created whilst she has undergone treatment for cancer, and represents a study of the human body and the medical technology that has assisted her recovery.
For Wood, who seeks to portray the glory manifest in the ordinary, the opportunity to collaborate with Kim for the first time breathed new life into his work, and the exhibition features a series of stunningly beautiful abstract paintings that complement Kim’s mystical fascination with the human body.
Exploring themes of light and darkness, and tracing a physical journey to recovery, The Void of Desire will be an unmissable exhibition for our times.
What inspired the title The Void of Desire?
The title of my first solo show in the UK in 2018 was The Anatomy of Desire, while Eugene’s was Illuminating the Void. The Void of Desire draws together both of our practices. We also felt that it reflects so many people’s experience of lockdown and recent months, in which desire - for connection, for experiences - has had to be suppressed or frustrated.
What drew you to London?
I knew that I wanted to study abroad, and sought the advice of friends who had already done so. Many of them recommended London, and after visiting all of the cities in which I was considering studying, I knew that I wanted to come here. The art education offered in London is so different to South Korea, and is far more driven by self-teaching, allowing you to find yourself as an artist.
Why - and how - did you become an artist?
Art has always been a part of my life. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t creating or making something. I grew up in Korea in the 1990’s, which was a time of prosperity for art and culture, helping to pave the way for artists like myself looking to absorb our culture yet also expand our horizons. Moving to London offered a broader landscape and perspective to my art. I was drawn to the great philosophers Lacan and Freud who increasingly inform my work, whilst also maintaining a love for Japanese anime and culture.
What inspires you to create?
My body and personal journeys. I tend to use my body as a reference to create my artwork as I have suffered from long medical observation. My work represents a cross-section in my own life between a very personal journey of the body, life and death, and a deeper understanding of my work in terms of style and subject matter.
Are there any themes or ideas that recur in your work?
I have been inspired by Lacan and Freud’s theories of desire. In Freud’s Beyond the Pleasure Principle (1920), he stated ‘the only subject that fulfils desire is death, meaning that desire is the driving force that keeps man alive’. I have this theory that we are awoken by desire, we get life from it and are able to merely glimpse the world through a borrowed mortal body.
Are there any differences or continuities between your current and previous work?
My previous work was more focused on the line; patterns of curves and straight lines, flattened surfaces. My current work is seeking more depth of space with the elements I already have. It applies to all of the media I use, such as illustration, painting and sculpture.
So many religions and philosophical movements have viewed desire as inherently negative - do you view it as a positive force?
I come from a society in which desire is often oppressed, but I don’t see it as intrinsically positive or negative, only something that is part of our universal experience.
What do you find most inspiring and challenging at the moment?
Responding to the events of our time, while continuing to focus on the theme that I have firmly chosen, the human figure as a subject, and exploring the concepts of desire, life, and death. My work is responding to and being influenced by today’s circumstances: the issues of global disease and isolation, as well as discrimination in the world. I have started to focus more on suppressed mortality and the oppression of contemporary society in my work.
Finally, if you had to choose only three words to describe your work, which words would you choose?
Body, desire and mortality.
ALL IMAGES PROVIDED BY MINJU
VISIT MINJU’S PAGE HERE TO SEE MORE OF HER WORK
Thank you for reading,
Rebecca Wall & Cluster Team.