Portfolio 2021

Jihwan Kim
Jesusbar
The idea behind this project
originated from my belief in
the increasing dominance of
hedonism over our modern
society from our
continuously evolving
technologies and culture.
The integration of religion
with industrialism is a
dominant theme in this
work.
 Jesusbar
Documentation 2021
 Struggle

coathangers, cable ties 3.2x0.7x2.0m approx., 2021

 The metallic coat
hangers form an
abstract shape,
originating from the
center. The violet
pink lighting
creates an ambient
mood. The center
weighs influence
on the fringes,
attempting to
create a sphere of
influence around
itself, expressing
the struggle
between
psychological
inertia and the will
of an individual.

Process of construction
Rejuvenator of reason
air dry modelling clay, Nike bag strap, electrical
wires, mixer, cardboard tube, elastic fabric band,
clear plastic sheets, sketch paper
31x45x20cm, 2021
The prototype expresses regeneration of the will. Exercise charges the
batteries on the top of the contraption. Moving up and down creates
electricity. When sufficient energy is stored, the mixer will run,
replenishing the individual’s energy with fresh juice.
A blueprint of the prototype
Facial Reorientation
pink foam, nails, sketch paper,
magazine pages,
50 x 70 x 35 cm approx., 2021
Patches of skin are mixed and
reconstructed in different alignments on
the hand-made mannequin. The
patches share physical characteristics
to a shield, forming a guard over the
face.
Suspended in limbo
Sketch paper 200g, acrylic
paints
26.5x21cm, 2021

There is a girl in the midst of a

dancing crowd, reaching out into the
void. There is a seeming hole in the
dance floor, and the dancers appear
to be floating aimlessly
Intricacies of Feeling
electronically sculpted, 2021
Masks, each with different facial expressions concurrently overshadow
another, with one being the representative, outward facing.
Tower Towards God

40x50x28cm approx.,2021

For centuries, the tallest

buildings in the world were of
religious origin. The heights
represented the grandeur of
religion and humanity’s
inferiority to it. Societies all over
the world invested in the idea of
deity through tribute or strict
abidance to the religious order.
The higher the platform one
occupied, supposedly the more
in touch with god the individual.
Seen in many cultures’ caste
systems, where rulers would be
ordained by God to rule.
 The persons sitting down
are Egyptian spirits. While
the ones holding the tower
are disfigured, the spirits
are of the shape of what
we consider to be
non-disfigured humans.
This represents the
spiritual and religious
meaning behind the
buildings and the
supposed peace and
prosperity of the individual
after death.

The higher an individual was an increasingly smaller portion of the pyramid needed to be held. The
juxtaposition of traditional morality, most applicable to the lower castes to god, yet the higher you
went, the less compulsion there were to demonstrate these traditional beliefs. The artwork attempts to
ask: which way is the right way towards god?
Kasparov vs. Time
Polystyrene, acrylic paint,
modeling clay
23x4x51cm, 2021

A steak lies on a white table. The

meat’s surface is coarse. There is a
chessboard inside the bounds of
the meat. The chessboard is deep
within the surface of the meat.
There are pieces on the board, two
king pieces and the less significant
pawns. In a stalemate, with time
flowing by.
A stray cat’s
search of home
canvas, acrylic paint

29.5 x 29.5cm x 6, 2021

The painting as a whole,

comprising 6 different pieces, is a
photo of my old home in the
United Kingdom. Each individual
piece is taken in a different
location, places less associated
with human habitation.
A stray cat’s
search of home

Dressed in black, the large cat

hunts for home, scattered.
Revanchism of past morality
canvas, acrylic paint
42x31cm, 2021

A man is clutching the strings of his hair, his

face shrouded. Illuminated by the sun, yet
encompassed by darkness. An explosion
from the man to the outer world. Colors fly.
Within the storms of chaos are faces
appearing from the abyss, chins resting on a
leg.
A dastardly hope in
a wounded machine

canvas, acrylic paint

42x31cm, 2021

The piece shows a disfigured

form of what seems to be a
human face. The piece is done
in a semi-illustrative style. The
semi-illustrative theme
manifests the duality of reality
experienced by the machine.
Encroachment
canvas, acrylic paint
42x31cm, 2021

An array of vivid hands are reaching

closer to the observer. All hands are
have embraced different positions,
sedated in the lull of time. The
background contains jagged, spiky
edges in black and purple.
The tunneling nature
of curiosity and
memory

Acrylic on canvas.
72.5x60.5cm, 2021

The painting creates a pictorial space where

digital screens of popular images pass by the
seemingly oblivious mouse on a printing
platform. The platform is actively printing an
optical illusion.

The combinations of the optical illusion,

sliding digital screens towards the center
point perspective creates a visual complexity
that illuminates the intricacies of the
relationship between the internal
psychological and physical worlds.
Human anatomy
cuttlefish ink on paper,
47x35cm, 2021