Books // New Talent Category Winner
WIA2016
Overall New Talent Winner
Hyde & Seek
Jimin Kim is a Korean picture book artist, author, print maker and illustrator, currently based in Seoul. She enjoys making a narrative and embodying it in a format of a picture book. She is made her book just after graduating from Kingston University with a Communication Design: MA Illustration course. Now she is focusing on making a picture book for children and running parallel with making her original print artist book as well. She also wants to introduce the concept of artist book to the public as an artwork in itself.
About Entry
‘Hyde & Seek’ was a final project for my MA Illustration course at Kingston University for showing the theme of 'alter egos’. It is a concertina style artist book consists of 12 pages original etching prints.
Website/Portfolio Address
jiminkimpicturebook.com
facebook
Brief
This book, ‘Hyde & Seek’ is about strangers (alter egos) in our mind. According to psychologist Jung, a human personality cannot be defined as a single image, which means that human personality is a cluster of multiple personalities. The theme of 'Hyde and Seek' is based on this idea. When it comes to the visual aspect, I use cutting section to represent this idea. So audiences can make different compositions by themselves by turning page after page. In addition to this, these images can represent the theme of split egos effectively.
Materials
Etching, Aquatint
Research
After exploring varied artworks (including films, books) that represent the theme, ‘alter egos’, I started to do visual experiments with photography. Especially, reflected images on the variety of surfaces such as mirror, glass and water were core elements in building impressive visuals of this book. Luckily, Hayward Gallery was exhibiting artworks of the installation artist, Carsten Holler at that time. In there, I found his stunning installation artwork ‘Half Mirror Room’, I could take photos of my twin images using mirror walls. These twin photos became the base in constructing visuals of the book.
Process
I started the project with narrative board in the first place and then created character design and the page layout. After sketching 12 pages, I transferred them to zinc plates and scratched drawing lines and then etched them in acid. After inking on the plates, I printed 3 zinc plates (consisting of 4 pages on 1 plate) on the paper, folded each scene, then affixed 3 original prints to each other and bound by hand at last.
Resistances
Time, time, time! I always felt a lack of time.
Particularly, etching was an extremely time consuming process, there were many variables that I could not expect in the printing process. Unexpected consequences always made me crazy!
Insight
I have been interested in books or movies that deal with the subject matter of alter ego from childhood. ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ is one of my favourite books from my childhood. Another novel with the same theme, ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ and Russian novel, ‘The Double’ are also in my favourite book lists. Since I always have been fascinated by the theme of split personalities, I have wanted to make my own story based on this theme.
Distractions
Worries about the possibility of failure to meet the deadline for my degree show.
Numbers
3 months, 3 zinc plates, 12 pages, and dozens of print making papers and uncountable mistakes
Afterwords
I finished my first picture book and it is waiting for publication.
Lastly, I would like to cite an insightful quote of Philip Roth, American writer.
“When you publish a book, it’s the world’s book. The world edits it.”