Statement

‘Han’ is a Korean word that describes a sense of one’s loss, grief or “shared suffering” that stems from oppression and violence acted upon the collective, while ‘post-memory han’ refers to the transgenerational transmissions. Through the gestures of measuring, weighing and feeling a silenced (un)translatable racialized affect, I trace connections in individual and collective post-memories in order to open up interpretations and imaginings. Residual unresolved intergenerational experiences reveal fractures created by loss that perpetually shape understandings of our past, present and future. Text, repetition, the body and the labour of my hands in each gesture are expressions of my relation to the stories absorbed.

Bio

mihyun maria kim is an interdisciplinary artist currently based in Tkaronto, researching affects of transmitted post-memory han, gaps in collective narratives, perception of time, and residual impacts of intergenerational trauma (through experiences of war, displacement, poverty and family divide).  Her works take the form of text, paintings, performative videos, audio, site-specific installations, community-based round tables and public art.

CV

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