Korean photographer
MIJOO KIM - MFA THESIS SHOW 23-27 February 2015
The John & June Allcott Gallery | Art Department | UNC-Chapel Hill
MFA Thesis Exhibition
Mijoo Kim: Re-Figure
23-27 February 2015
Opening Reception: 23 February 2015, 6-8 pm
My photography explores the processes of memory and identity. In this series, I focus on fabric and clothing as subject matter; shrouded female figures are set in relation to varying environments. Clothing itself conveys a slippery relationship between time and memory, and the public and private ways people inhabit it. This meditation entails challenging and important questions about representations of women, myself included. I feature myself in the frame, draped in fabrics harmonized with environments to examine and enact cultural camouflage. This strategy stems from my experiences as a Korean residing in the US for the past seven years and investigating my responses to this relocation. I use my camera to examine how my portrayal as an anonymous figure both visually conforms to American surroundings, but also conveys displacement. I express my sense of estrangement, by not only shielding my features, but also functioning as a visual barrier that the viewer cannot penetrate. Nevertheless, the colors of my shrouds play of off the backdrops’ palette to communicate a will to connect with my newfound surroundings.
Admission: Free
Gallery Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 am-5 pm
Artist website: www.mijookim.com