Meet the Artists Behind MENTAL: Wednesday Kim

Wednesday Kim is a South Korean interdisciplinary artist living in Los Angeles, California. Her work transcends analogue and digital media, encompassing; 3D animation, performance, installation, video, print and sculpture. Wednesday’s artistic practice is largely informed by the collusion of darker experiences such as nightmares, intrusive thoughts and childhood trauma, and their effect on the human psyche. Alongside her artistic practice, Wednesday is the co-founder of De:Formal, a platform that curates online and offline exhibitions and promotes critical conversations within the contemporary art space.

‘Aesthetics of Being Disappeared’ Wednesday Kim is on display as part of Science Gallery Melbourne’s opening exhibition MENTAL: Head Inside.

Hello Wednesday, can you tell us a bit about your background and how you got into art?

I was born and grew up in Seoul, South Korea. Me, my sister, brother and mom moved to USA in my early teens. I grew up in Los Angeles and attended the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York. I tried to avoid studying Fine Arts but ended up graduating with a Fine Arts degree 🙄. After I moved to North Dakota, then Alaska, and now I’m currently back in California.

One of my favorite jobs was working as an assistant graphic designer at a plastic surgery place. Part of my daily routine was cutting out all the other plastic surgery place’s commercials from the newspaper so customers couldn’t read them. One day I made 3D version of a demodex [tiny mites that live near or inside hair follicles] to scare the customers who were losing their hair. Observing people while working is a big inspiration for my artistic practice. When I was waitressing, I would observe people who were really drunk, people with wet armpits and flaky dandruff.

The video work you produced for MENTAL titled ‘Aesthetics of Being Disappeared’ centres on the theme of being consumed by an insatiable internet addiction and a virtual existence. Is there a particular world you wish you could live in, or any fictional characters you identify with? Or is it simply the digital version of yourself?

I could say it is the digital version of myself, but I am such an introvert. Most of the time I’m scared of being socialized with people physically. Even when I was talking with my therapist, he asked me to “imagine your safe place” and I ended up choosing a virtual space instead of actual space. I think it might be a wishy-washy struggle between the fight or flight instincts.

Your work depicts the absurdity of contemporary information overload by applying a surrealist lens to wordplay, memes, Wikipedia and witticism. What does your artistic process look like? Can you walk us through some of it?

I work with footages that I shoot, with collected/downloaded footage and free 3D presets that I morph around. I always also collect things physically. It can be found objects, any kinds of materials, hand-written paper or left-over peanuts— literally anything that gives me a signal, I collect, and some of them end up in my work. This is also connected with my video process, I think.

I research online like it’s a hobby: I read Wikipedia articles, and Urban Dictionary entries and search random things on Amazon to get inspired. The Internet has been my best friend.

You mentioned that darker themes such as nightmares and trauma inform your work. Is art a way for you to confront and process distressing experiences? Is there anything else you do to cope?

I dream so much, mostly nightmares. Elements from my nightmares are one of my sources of inspiration. I use them in my work a lot.  

Most of my work is based on my own personal experience including childhood trauma. I was exposed to a lot of unusual events and encounters, of many I try to make humor out of. I guess in a way to cope. But I think where there is trauma or unspeakable stories, there is also humor that can come out of it. Humor is important for me. It helps you to breathe, to live, to know it’s okay. I think that’s why I am addicted to memes.

But what will happen to my work after I get rid of all my traumas into my work? Will the humor last alone? I guess more experiential time is waiting for me.

To cope… I make cocktails, picking out ones that are annoying to make, like Ramos Gin Fizz. This experience led me to planning a cocktail performance for my future project. My therapist recommends me baking, then I ended up making cocktails…

Do you listen to music while creating? If so, what are you currently listening to?

I used to love to listening music while creating (my favorites are Crystal Castles, Animal Collective, Queen, MGMT, the Velvet Underground and m0re). After my daughter is born, the best thing I ever listen to is “silence”.

Oh, but the most current playlist I listened to is:

How did relocating from Seoul to California shape your perspective and inform your work? Have you found “your people” yet? If so, how did you go about forming new ties and friendships?

I would say there is more freedom in the U.S.A than in Korea. I was punished many times in my childhood and early teens. Both at home and in school. I went to a women-only middle school in Korea, and I was punished many times for not wearing a tank top on top of a bra, and for bringing manga to the school and etc. There are many kinds of punishments (run into teacher’s fist / pulling nose or ears / cleaning the public bathrooms). I don’t know about these days, but at the time there were no janitors. Students must clean the classroom, but the bathroom is usually by punishment. You had to get creative to hide things at school if you didn’t want to get caught.  I love hiding things in my work like hide and seek. And it can be found in most of my videos.

Me and my partner in crime, Vincent Cy Chen [a New York-based Taiwanese artist who works in sculpture and installation] met when both of us were students at SVA. Becoming a friend with Vincent took one year because I was so shy making friends. Mostly I said “hi” back and walked fast away from people— even my eyes are running away from eye contact. I am the one who usually sits in the back or corners. But sometimes, if there's a topic that I am crazy about, I can't hold the shy part of me.

Most of my art friends are from school and Instagram (most of them I never met in person lol). I sound talkable when I'm online, but when we Zoomed I’m hiding behind Zoom filter. When I lived in Alaska, I made a few friends by bumping them in the playground, our daughters became friends too… such a mom's life. Luckily, my people, mostly they are extroverts 😂 Thank God they did not give up on me.

What has your experience been like so far as the co-founder of the artist-run platform De:Formal?

So, it’s me and Vincent. We started the platform because we want to support other emerging artists by promoting them mostly. It’s been a great experience so far but it is hard because it’s only two of us running. We are looking for sponsors currently.

And lastly, Wednesday, is there anything else you’d like us to know about you or your work?

Thanks for having me! I am always online so, feel free to DM or email me... instead of phone calls haha.

To see more from Wednesday Kim, visit wednesdaykim.xyz or @wednesdaykimm on Instagram.