Red Snake

Using tattoo as a form of expression, Kim reveals deeply imprinted desires and obsessions on his mind. In his early works, to demonstrate repression towards individuals under the social convention, he started making a discourse on the relationship of body and tattoo, which was a cultural taboo and still legally restricted in Korea. Literally reproducing tattoos on fake flesh, in the 00s, Kim used motifs such as clouds, dragons, and traditional symbols, as well as luxurious brand labels mapped on the human body, causing a friction of shape, texture, and pattern. In terms of methodology, Kim chose 3D animation techniques for his digital prints and moving images to explore the intervals and to mix the host and object of desire. In series like “Blue Jean Blues” and “Drunken”, the body became more fragile by being made of ceramic. Recently, as seen in “Somebody” and “Forest”, the bodies are fragmented and distorted. This hybrid form creates uncanny and uncomfortable balancing acts by crashing the real versus fake, old versus new, who we want to be versus who we are, self-definition versus cultural expectations.

More by Kim Joon