Pink Magnolia - Minjee Hwang Kim

Minjee Hwang Kim (1991) is a visual artist from Seoul, South Korea, based in Helsinki, Finland. In her works, she explores looping time, warping space, and the paradox of belonging through the theme of a journey. Kim’s works have been shown in multiple solo and group shows in Helsinki, Seoul, New York, and online platforms. Kim holds an MFA from the Academy of Fine Arts Helsinki and a BFA from Korea National University of Arts.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My artistic interest lies in placement in both the physical and psychological sense. My art practice focuses on looping time, warping space, and contradictions of belonging between the Buddhist-circular universe and the Christian-linear universe. While my conservative Buddhist parents said that we come back to this life through karma, my (also conservative) Protestant private school said the world is linear, and we shall believe in Jesus to be saved.

These interests often merge and metamorphose into the question of womanhood and a rite of passage, especially concerning my migration as well as my mother's and my maternal grandmother's. My grandmother fled her hometown during the Korean War. My non-English speaking mother went to the USA for her children's future. And I moved to the Nordics to find myself. But what exactly are we looking for?

Where does girlhood end and womanhood start?

I use motifs such as snakes and butterflies as an allegory of growth and transformation reiterating my East Asian identity. For example, the widespread Western image of the snake is sin, especially concerning Eve as the first woman to succumb to temptation. However, in Korean mythology, a snake symbolizes the beginning of god, the opposite of a snake in the West, representing the downfall of god. It is said that when a snake trains its mind for 1000 years, it ascends to the sky and become a dragon, a deity that overlooks the weather.

Through my practice, I aim to rediscover girlhood as complicated and nuanced, angry and resilient, who eventually claim their womanhood when they want and how they want. I use painting as my primary medium. I also recently have been actively expanding into textile installation and sculpture to grow my visual vocabulary while referencing the domestic crafts by women.