KIM Jihee

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KIM Jihee

Participating Project	International Creator Residency Program
Activity Based	Korea
City	Tokyo
Period	2020.1 - 2020.3

Purpose of the residency

My work plan for TOKAS is to produce body-based paintings and Book Drawings in parallel. My project will be divided into two factors: my studio will be walled with roll paper, a form inspired by the process of unraveling my image-bodies and filled with inspirations from Tokyo and Book Drawings.
In order to conduct the project described above, I will require “Book donations” from local people near TOKAS will also be essential in order to let me begin my book drawing project. I will publicize my requests for book donations via social media before beginning my residency, with the help of TOKAS staff.  

Plan during the residency

1. Exploring the physical qualities in great detail of donated books in Tokyo.
2. Exploring Japan's beautiful printing art in depth. eg) Visiting local printing houses and print workshops. (producing silk screen works and lithographs)
3. Having the drawing workshops with Tokyo citizen.
4. Cultivating my body-based paintings.

Actitivies during the residency

According to the staff at TOKAS, Sumida-ku is a place with plenty of communal interaction among residents. As someone accustomed to the kind of contemporary urban living where you don’t even care who your next door neighbor is, I was interested to find that such local bonds still exist in Tokyo. I wanted to embark on a project with the locals here (or to briefly become a local resident myself). The TOKAS staff helped by introducing me to Mr. Suzuki, a man who, since retiring as the long-time manager of a car part shop, has spent most of his time contributing to the local community and promoting interaction and harmony among residents. I stepped into the empty shop that Mr. Suzuki had not used since his retirement, I was fascinated to find that it reminded me of white cube gallery. This uncanny association prompted me to begin a wall drawing project in the old shop.

Overview of the residency

Holding workshops in Tokyo and the various cities around the world has prompted me to reconsider the nature of drawing. As speakers of different languages, the workshop participants and I attempted to communicate using drawings transcending language and text. Here, drawing acquires special power: my drawings connect different people, enabling them to communicate through images and listen to each other’s stories. I believe that this is the power that drawings exert in today’s era of crisis. As such, by meeting citizens in Tokyo through the drawing workshop and communicating through drawings, I started to rethink the expansion of drawings and its function. I would like to study and explore about the infinite possibilities of drawing in my upcoming works.

Creator Information