Blue Fish 3
Kim Joon b. 1966
2008
C-print , 1016 x 1016 mm
edition 2 of 5
signed and dated on certificate of authenticity attached verso
Kim Joon’s tattooed bodies question the assumption that beauty is only skin deep and reveal just how perverse consumer-culture desires have become. In Kim’s work a vast mix of divergent cultural elements merge as he examines the tattoo as a social phenomenon.
Despite an overt Oriental influence, Kim expands his symbolism beyond traditional serpents and dragons and borrows icons from consumer culture. In his earlier works emblems of political groups, religious movements or multinational brands such as BMW and Gucci are tattooed on figures, suggesting that people are literally becoming their favourite brands. His work serves to challenge the delicate balance between people, their environment and their desires. ‘I am interested in tattoo as a metaphor for hidden desire or a kind of compulsion engraved into human consciousness...I see the skin, or in some cases, the monitor, as an extension of a canvas. Tattoos can reflect individual and collective reality or displaced desire.’ (Kim, J., Kim Joon. Retrieved 16 July 2008, http://www.kimjoon.co.kr/joon)
In his Blue Fish series (2008) clusters of naked bodies fill the compositions, often assuming poses. The flesh of each figure is covered in intricate cobalt blue tattoos which spill into the background, creating an intense and vibrant image. But amongst the elegance of the fish designs and the provocative poses, there is blemished skin and pixelated edges. Where the picture could have been rendered perfect, the artist has allowed for imperfections, perhaps suggesting the lasting impact of consumer ideals.
Although his works appear photographic, they are in fact digital manipulations of a single figure, often his own body, which is rotated and repeated within the frame. The tattoos are added digitally through what Kim calls ‘mouse painting’, an effect achieved using a sophisticated computer application and the mouse as the paintbrush.
Kim Joon was born in Korea and has exhibited extensively throughout Asia since 1994 and more recently in America and Europe. The auction house Phillips de Pury recently dedicated the catalogue cover of its New York Photographic session to one of his enchanted Duets.