Spot the Designer - Ji Young Kim/ South Korea

What did you want to be when you were a  child? 

When I was young, I was imaginative and wanted to be a magician. It felt wonderful to surprise, make someone laugh, and imagine. And even the magician was thought to have mysterious powers. Also, I wanted to be a cartoonist because I am good at drawing. Cartoons also made me dream of being young, made me happy, and I could imagine being anything and making a story. For me as a child, this world was a mysterious world filled with unimaginable things that came true as I imagined.

 When have you started creating jewelry? How did this passion come about?

I've been working as a writer on the broadcasting station for more than 20 years. Creating broadcasting can be said to be a planner who creates an intangible world and a task to make the invisible realistic. However, I couldn't write my own story because it was made with the collaboration of many people. As I happened to know metalworking and went back to graduate school, I was able to make jewelry in earnest. Although I liked Jewelry so much, it fascinated me more than anything else that I could talk about my own story through Jewelry while studying Contemporary Jewelry. It's so wonderful that I can visualize my invisible story through jewelry and people who like it can even wear it. The coolest thing is that through this process, my story is alive and moving.

What was your first project or significant piece for you and from what point of view? 

The first project that took the form of now my work was the Seoul Craft Contest. At that time, I was inspired by listening to my favorite song. I wanted to tell my story through the ornaments. To me, life has always been losses and I understand that it is a process of filling them up. I was able to organize such forms into kinetic elements that were 'gap' and escaping, or entering. Through this process, I came to think that loss things of life was never negative. This is because you can empty it to eventually refill it.

How do you charge your batteries? What other passions and creative interests do you have?

My studio is located in nature and very near North Korea. Just looking at the irony of places where you just can't go can think of every day. The place where I am is good for a walk because there is green nature all over the village. Dreaming of a tired I bring him to the spirit and the next work for a walk with a loved one. Play your favorite music to the base of the heart, here.

What does the connection between manufacturing tradition and contemporary design mean to you?

The unique ways of having a long tradition help authors tell their own stories as long as they are well-skilled. In contemporary design, it is important to look cool, but in order to contain one's own story, one's own philosophy about the process of making it, is contained. Even if the process of making is never seen, the time is not in vain. This is because those invisible times eventually become visible to someone's eyes. We're working today for such a moment.

Is there a self-portrait piece that speaks most about you?

The starting point of my work is that I wanted to tell my story, so in fact, no all works are not self-portraits.

Which material have you not yet used is a temptation and a challenge for you?

The materials for contemporary jewelry are as diverse as the imaginations of the participating artists. I can't handle all the ingredients. I'm interested, but I want to challenge the combination of new materials and not stop challenging them to deepen my own thoughts on silver, just as many author deepen their own research.

 How was the pandemic period for you as a jewelry designer?

During the pandemic, I thought a lot about the concept of us. I can't do anything by myself. We have to be in solidarity with each other, cooperate with each other, and move forward with each other. I had time to look back on myself and think deeply about my work. Of course, it became more difficult to meet customers, but I also thought about the non-face-to-face method when I saw that many artists developed at this time and sought non-face-to-face methods.

How do you see the future of contemporary jewelry?

Contemporary Jewelry, I think it is one of the essential education for children. As a person who majored in both media education and metal crafting, I think we should do my own story and visualization process through contemporary jewelry. And I think this education should be conducted freely regardless of women or men, and it should also be developed as a concept of education that can be achieved even after retirement regardless of age. Of course, more attention from collectors and galleries will be needed in the field of art, but think carefully about the connection with the field of education.

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