A solo exhibition by Korean artist Jade Kim entitled Memories in Motion will be on view at Woaw Gallery Singapore from March 18th to May 20th 2023. The exhibition will feature twelve captivating paintings that explore Kim's wife's childhood memories and dreams. For the past two years, Kim has focused on the character MIN in his paintings. In creating the character, he was motivated by his curiosity regarding his wife's childhood. In Memories in Motion, Kim's wife's childhood memories are depicted in a series of paintings.
I love hearing the stories of her dreams all the time when she wakes up after dreams. Those stories inspire me and are reflected in my paintings, say Kim.
Even though Kim is the one who paints the character, the character was created jointly with his wife. Since she majored in costume design, she would advise Kim on MIN’s wardrobe. Kim then explained that he was inspired by impressive and attractive artworks he had seen in the past when he was asked about the facial expression of MIN.
MIN has a neutral expression on her face constantly. I hope that the neutral expression in the work would allow the audience to be imaginative when it comes to MIN’s character. As a husband, I am also scared of my wife when she has a neutral expression on her face like MIN, haha!
Jade Kim, Garden of Silence (White), 2023, Oil on Canvas, 117 cm x 91 cm
While MIN's neutral expression does not convey the mood of the character, Kim chose to portray it through her hair color.
She is so different when she is infinitely kind and happy and when she is angry and sulk, so I divided that part by hair color. Also, even at that moment, she has different charms, so I wanted to embody that clear boundary in my work.
Symbolizing life and beauty, flowers as a subject matter have a long history in painting; from Delacroix to Cezanne, distressed artists sought inspiration from nature to find sublime.
Kim explains the intention of incorporating flowers into this series is a process for the birth of life, a symbol of beauty, and a being that coexists with many lives.
The flowers in my work have that meaning. It also contains many intentions(...) the meaning of the background in her dream, the positive function of flowers, the beauty of real flowers. I really enjoy the process(…) The flowers in this solo show in Singapore have meaning for my experiments and efforts of the processes. Kim explains.
Even though he had little recollection of his childhood, seeking beauty is something Kim has been passionate about.
I don't remember my childhood well now, but I think it was pretty intense and passionate. There was always a desire for something beautiful. I was sensitive to clothes, toys, plastic models, animation, music and pop culture, and I always seem to be interested in new things.
Although I don’t remember much from my childhood, I’ve always been curious about my wife’s. In my work, MIN is constantly going through different stages of growth. Since MIN is a projection of my wife’s childhood, I would like to capture all the precious moments of her past before we crossed paths and this includes her growing up.
When asked about his plans for the future, Kim emphasized that he would like to continue pursuing his artistic career.
I will continue to make art. I believe it would be my inevitable destiny to develop and move forward for myself and for all of you who support and love me a lot. I will continue to do my best for my development as long as I can create my Min and world.