ARTIST STATEMENT
Pain Adjacent is a culmination of my research and art practice recontextualizing Korea’s past and memories of Korean families who have settled in America. Through layering, repetition, and obfuscation, I combine images from my photo archive (2000s to present), family and friends’ photo albums (1950s to 2000s), and the Postcard Collection of Colonial Korea (1900s to 1945) held at the University of Chicago’s Regenstein Library. Thus, I reconstruct a narrative around the modern definition of han – one that sheds light on the sufferings and trauma the Japanese Imperialist regime inflicted upon Koreans that continue to haunt future generations. My work shares insights into my collective history as a Korean and my individuality as an American. Aspects of my identity as a woman, mother, and artist have a space in the art field where those stories aren’t noticed or often shared. If the viewer looks closely, they can see a thread that connects their pain, suffering, and trauma from a long lineage of brokenness in history.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Betty Young Kim’s work addresses the often-overlooked labor of motherhood and postcolonial feminism, revealing the historical injustices inflicted upon her Korean lineage. Rooted in photography, Kim uses self-portraiture to add a subtle layer of seen images that are typically unseen, filling in the gaps of photos and videos in government-sanctioned archives, pop culture, and fiction and non-fiction sources. Kim also explores the inclusion of fiber arts, performance, and sculpture in dialogue with past and present cultures. She earned a B.A. in Government from the University of Texas at Austin, an M.A. in Security Policy Studies from George Washington University, and an M.F.A. in Visual Arts from the University of Chicago.
© Betty Young Kim