Growing with the adversities of a culture shock
Jinran Kim's Korean Geishas in the midst of a war-scarred cityscape
Who has ever experienced culinary delights from Korea together with Berlin "pork knuckle with sauerkraut", at one and the same buffet? Korean Seoul and Berlin are coming together. In 1994, at the age of 26, Korean artist Jinran Kim moved to Berlin and experienced what she had previously only known from hearsay: culture shock. But after the sobering "culture clash", she increasingly spots parallels between the two, which find their way into the artist's work cycles – designs with gauze, ashes and soap, among others. In her eyes, what suggests the comparison between origin and adopted home is above all the state of mind after a devastating war and the task of both nations to free themselves for new meanings despite these experiences.
Maybe some of our readers know Choi Jeong Hwa, the figurehead of Korean pop art and the installation “Hubble Bubble” shown at the 17th Biennale in Sydney 2010, printed in international art magazines. There are quite a number of female Korean artists such as Sora Kim, Minouk Lim, Jiha Moon, Jean Shin, Yeesookyung. Jinran Kim can be seen as a notable female representative of contemporary visual arts. After her artistic education at the prestigious Seoul National University she has lived in Berlin since the early 1990s. Her activities in painting, object art/installation, performances, and art in the public space are various and extensive – in Germany and abroad. She helped design the facade of the Lotte World Tower in Korea, one of the world's tallest buildings. In Berlin she participated in the GLS Facade project with a permanent installation. In the German capital she has held a number of exhibitions, including "Haus der Kulturen der Welt", "Kommunale Galerie Steglitz-Zehlendorf", "Schwartzsche Villa", "Boulevard Berlin", "Galerie im Körnerpark", further art galeries such as "Berlin Weekly", "Z22". Some of her works are permanently represented in the "Museum für Moderne Kunst" (Frankfurt am Main) and in the " National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art" (Seoul). She exhibited in the "Kunsthalle Brennabor" in Brandenburg, and in the "Kunstmuseum Moritzburg", Halle (Saale). Since 2019 she has organized the Project Space "KIMGO", together with the Canadian media artist Baruch Gottlieb.
Dear Jinran Kim, I am very happy that we are meeting up today for our mutual conversation!
It is certainly interesting to learn about Korean culture, tradition and habits. It goes without saying that food is a crucial topic. As I have heard Korean people usually sit crossed-legged on the floor when having a meal. What is typical for Korean cuisine, in contrast to Berlin's "Eisbein mit Sauerkraut"? What are quintessential dishes in your country?
J.K.: Koreans sit on the floor and eat comfortably. Traditionally, we live in an ondol (heated floor) culture, so we sit on the floor to read books, drink tea, and eat.
Kimchi, bulgogi, and ribs can be compared to sauerkraut or eisbein. There are many Korean restaurants in Germany, so you can taste Korean food. I enjoy Korean food cooked at home.
Korea is famous for its beautiful landscape and its natural wonders. Some of your motifs seem to refer to its scenic particularities.
J.K.: Korea's nature is beautiful. Some of its motifs seem to refer to its appealing scenic as the four seasons change, the scenery and colors change each time. I often use Korean forests and Ocean as my artistic motifs. The deep blue sea of the East Coast gives me a lot of inspiration.
Not only Korea's nature, but also the natural scenery of each country has its own unique color, and I express the forests and seas of various countries in my work.
The hit "Gangnam Style" may still be ringing in the ears of some of us. Korean pop culture is becoming increasingly widespread. Music, cartoons, animations, science fiction... The manifestations of Korean popular culture. Are some of them perhaps also relevant for your artistic outlook?
J.K.: Korean popular culture, especially drama, movies, and popular music, is popular around the world.
I also love and I am a fan of Korean pop culture. It's amazing that Korean emotions and humor can inspire foreigners as well. I often chat with my German friends about Korean actors and TV series.
It doesn't have a direct impact on my art work, but It is a comfort when I feel homesick while living abroad. And I can learn about current Korean trends, the thoughts of young people, and the spirit of the times through Korean pop culture. Someday, I also want to make art works that can give emotion and fun like the „Korean dramas“ that many people love.
Many famous phrases have been handed down from Confucius, wise and witty sayings like: "The archer who misses his target does not blame the target. He stops, corrects himself and shoots again." Or: " The lion chased me up a tree, and I really enjoyed the view from the top." Are Confucian and Buddhist influence still observable in contemporary Korean society?
J.K.: Buddhism and Confucianism are among the major religions in East Asia. Even in modern society, religion is still an important part of life, so it can be easily found. Visit temples, pray, meditate, and practice your mind. Confucian ideas still remain, but the younger generation increasingly wants their own lifestyle, and I think morals and rules need to change to fit the times.
I don't have a specific religion, but I want to believe in karma and when I feel anxious I like to read Buddhist philosophy books to feel relaxed.
From what I have heard, in Korea family life is not simply important, it means everything. Respect for parents and elders, the emphasis on duty and loyality towards the family. How does that show in day-to-day life?
J.K.: Korea is a family-oriented society. Respect for parents should be based on love. If it is made mandatory, it will cause a lot of conflict.The younger generation get a lot of support from their parents, but when their parents get old and need help, they often turn away. For this reason, young parents prepare to live well in their old age without the help of their children, parents and children each try to live their own lives independently.
Talking about the Korean language: Could you give us an example of a Korean proverb that illustrates the mentality of the Korean people?
J.K.: For example "Heaven helps those who help themselves", "Blood is thicker than water", "No news is good news", "Every dog has his day".
Can you describe how it felt when you came to Germany at the age of 26 years? Was there something like a culture shock?
J.K.: When I first came to Germany, I also experienced a culture shock that can occur to anyone. It was a shock to the culture of other things that were not necessarily bad or negative. For example, with many Germans I can be friends without worrying about age or occupation, in Korea, you have to be polite to older people, so it's difficult to talk to them like friends. Interest and passion for culture and art are not enjoyed only by wealthy people in Germany. As an artist, I like that there are many culture and art lovers in Germany.
Nowadays, Korean movies and culture are well-known through YouTube and Netflix, but when I came here in the past, Germans knew very little about Korea. It's just a country divided into North and South. Many people asked me if I am from South Korea or North Korea. I still get asked that question. I am from South Korea and 99% of Koreans in Germany are from South Korea.
In Korea, we learn a lot about Western history and culture in school, and many intellectuals know a lot about Western culture. However, Germans seem to know relatively little about Asian and Eastern countries. The world has changed. So many things are happening in Asia, outside of Europe, and it is now difficult to follow if you do not understand Eastern history.
"Truemmerfrauen", a picture presenting Korean Geyshas with colourful parasols amidst a war-scarred city. This gives the impression of a surreal montage…
J.K.: The Truemmerfrauen series represents German women working for reconstruction after the war. And after Korea War many Korean women came to Germany to work as nurses. Through this work, I metaphorically expressed the image of strong Korean and German woman who overcame difficult times.
On the other hand, the original meaning of geisha can be a woman who lives through artistic activities, that is, a female artist, and I can project myself into it.
I expressed the image of an artist traveling through ruins (like broken churches), which was the impression I had when I first came to Germany.
In the series of images "After the Rain" you also take up the war and its consequences in terms of motifs. After World War II Berlin was destroyed. Seoul was destroyed, too, after the Korean war. Can we compare the experiences of both countries?
J.K.: Inspired by Max Ernst's "After the Rain", I painted many ruins landscapes with this title. „After the rain“ is a metaphor for after the war has passed, and the situations in Korea and Berlin could be compared. Although Germany is now unified, Korea is still a divided country, and this political situation has influenced my work.
My previous works, the "Truemmerfrauen" series and the "After the Rain"- series, contain sad history and the current situation in Korea, which is still under the tension of war.
And following the pandemic, environmental problems and natural restoration are major issues in the world.
The current work is made with gauze, a medical product, as a healing material and an expression of both humans and nature being hurt and destroyed.
Let's stick to the aspect of "injury" of people and nature. Your portrait series with gauze 2017, colored with ashes, e.g. of Samuel Beckett, Leo Tolstoy, Arthur Schopenhauer and Rosa Luxemburg are, in your words, "landscapes in human form". To do this, you tear open the gauze, i.e. bandages, and sew it onto paper. Landscapes and portraits have a photorealistic touch – especially the reproduction of the sea spray – and only on closer inspection can you see the structure of threads. Could you elaborate on why you use a material for your art that is also used for the treatment of wounds?
J.K.: I've used a variety of materials so far, like soap, ash, and bandages. For the performance “Exercise in Futility” I used soap to represent traditional women's lives, for the series “After the rain” I used ash to paint, and for the series “Painstaking” bandages are the main material.
During the Second World War, people and cities were injured and destroyed, and with the onset of economic warfare and industrialization, nature is a victim and began to be destroyed. The Ocean is like a mother to mankind, but the ocean is polluted and forests are disappearing. I am making forests, oceans, humans, and natural landscapes with the healing material of Gauze. I express with gauze the issue about environment, and also the internal life of human nature, injured and wounded ,and healing nature metaphorically and aesthetically.
By means of your artistic commitment what are the desirable effects that you are heading for?
J.K.: It's an important question because I've had a lifetime of frustration and pain as an artist, as well as financially, and I'm still searching for answers about contemporary art. Like the myth of Sisyphus, I am an artist every day, working in my studio, failing and succeeding. I think it is the best way for me to find meaning in my life like a monk.
My goal is not the amount of money in my bank account or to become a famous artist, although I was so envious of this when I was younger. I want to create works that I will be satisfied with until the end of my life and express the thoughts I imagine, and I will be the first audience.
I've met so many nice people through my exhibitions so far.
If someone can become friends with me after reading this article and seeing my works, then I feel that I am a successful artist.
Dear Jinran Kim, thank you very much indeed for our kind conversation. All the best for your plans and projects!
CV
Born in Seoul, Korea. Since 1994 working and living in Berlin and Seoul
1994 - 1997 Universität der Künste Berlin, FB1 Bildende Kunst with Wolfgang Knapp, Monika Murasch
1996 Winchester School of Art in England
1991 – 1993 M.A. course at Seoul National University
1987 - 1991 trained as a sculptor at Seoul National University
Find more on: https://jinrankim.com/
The contact with Jinran Kim was kindly established by gallery Z22
Interviewer: Martina Pfeiffer