Kira Kim (b. 1974) has continually explored the social role of art and artists through diverse media, including two-dimensional works, performance, installation, and video. He incisively yet humorously exposes the power structures of capitalist society and the condition of humanity within it.
 
To achieve this, Kim collaborates with experts from various fields—filmmakers, voice actors, singers, actors, poets, and more—creating a layered platform for discourse. Currently, he is interested in examining the social and cultural positions of individuals through the lens of art, as well as the desires of both individuals and groups that challenge these roles.

From the beginning of his career, Kim has presented a critical view of contemporary capitalist society and dominant ideologies. In Still Life with one dollar (2008), for instance, he depicts aspects of capitalist desire and consumerism in the form of a still life, combining logos and products from global fast-food brands like McDonald's and Burger King.

Kim highlights how, in today's vast consumer society, desires and values have themselves become consumable objects, emphasizing the illusory aspects tied to commodities. For example, corporations don’t merely sell products but also the illusion of emotional satisfaction through the act of consumption. The brand logos, therefore, serve not only as identifiers but also as triggers for consumer desires and emotions.

Kira Kim parodies logo images and icons representing capitalism as visual elements within his work, critiquing the fetishization of commodities and the ideology driving consumerism. This approach of appropriation and parody frequently serves as a strategic method in his practice.
 
In his 2009 solo exhibition, “Super Mega Factory” at Kukje Gallery, Kim presented works that drew on diverse references from art history, history, and politics, recontextualizing them with a clever twist. By removing these symbols from their original contexts, he encourages viewers to look humorously at an unideal reality. In works like a monstrous, distorted Superman or an image of Queen Elizabeth with a black eye, he subverts familiar icons to invite fresh perspectives on what we take for granted, challenging assumptions and prompting a reevaluation of accepted norms.

Kim has also delved into one of the core contradictions in Korean society: the issue of division between North and South Korea. For instance, his 2013 video work A Weight of Ideology_The Letters to North_Let Me Know How Are You?_On the Yellow Sea addresses inter-Korean relations through the seemingly trivial subject of naengmyeon, a cold noodle dish. In this piece, the artist places a letter containing casual reflections on Pyongyang naengmyeon into a glass bottle and sets it adrift in the sea, addressed to an unknown person in North Korea.
 
Rather than focusing on the weighty topics of ideology or conflict, this work is approachable and human in tone, mirroring the letter’s content. Through this, Kim approaches the issue of division in a warm, relatable manner, emphasizing that any discussion on North-South relations should begin with respect for the basic human lives on both sides. He suggests that recognizing each other’s humanity is the foundation for meaningful engagement.

In 2015, at the “Korea Artist Prize” exhibition held at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, Kira Kim presented works that explored the realities of Korean society, created through collaborations with professionals from various fields. Using the subtitle “Floating Village,” he addressed the notion of a drifting, uncertain collective life within modern society.
 
The exhibited works are divided into three conceptual parts: private ownership, common sharing, and public enjoyment. The first, ‘private ownership’, involves the individual’s private domain becoming a subject of public discourse. ‘Common sharing’ represents the process of private realms expanding through art into a public forum. Finally, ‘public enjoyment’ suggests the premise of this discourse being reproduced and experienced in public spaces.
 
In the first room, Floating Village_Government_Consumer_Individual_The sole in Seoul (2015) captures spaces fraught with conflict. Kim recorded scenes by dragging a camera along the ground, moving from Seoul Station through City Hall and Gwanghwamun, and finally reaching the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s Seoul branch. By scanning these locations, this work serves as an introduction to the deeper exploration that unfolds in later pieces.

The Weight of Ideology: Darkness at Noon (2014) is a video work created in collaboration with a neuropsychiatrist. It documents the hypnotherapy sessions of a painter who became a victim of state violence under the National Security Law in the late 1980s. Once accused of espionage and detained by authorities, the painter reveals, through hypnotherapy, the brutal and absurd realities of state violence that have left deep marks on his body and mind.
 
In this piece, Kim refrains from intervening, serving only as an intermediary in the healing process. The stories that unfold, however, powerfully expose a reality that resembles fiction in its intensity. Through this approach, Kim unveils the inherent violence of societal ideologies, which, under the guise of the common good, have inflicted harm on individuals.

Kim states, “Ideologies are always beautiful and peaceful, yet the history they create is often violent and painful.” Through collaborations with actors, he explores the dual nature of ideology, producing video works that juxtapose and highlight both its beauty and violence.
 
In The Last Leaf #02: Like You Wanted Me, a man is drenched by a deluge of water bombs, symbolizing the violence of ideology, while in The Red Wheel: You Belong to Me, a woman dressed in a ruff colored clothe represents the allure and beauty of ideology. By pairing these two images, Kim aestheticizes and sensorially exposes the chasm between imagination and reality, underscoring the inherent contradictions within ideological constructs.

Floating Village: The Song of Wi Jaeryang (2015) is a video and sound work created in collaboration with hip-hop musicians, a subculture embodying a spirit of resistance. It presents a song filled with the life and experiences of an individual, expressing sorrow, love for humanity, and a profound sense of compassion.

This piece began when Kira Kim discovered a poetry collection by Wi Jaeryang, a poet and city sanitation worker in Seoul. Deeply moved by the sincerity and resonance of Wi’s poetry, Kim collaborated with a film director and rappers to produce six songs, music videos, and performances as a response to the poems. Through the story of Wi Jaeryang, Kim evokes a zeitgeist reflecting on the uncertainties of contemporary society.

Last year, Kim participated in the 14th Gwangju Biennale, presenting Secret Garden as Paranoia (2023), a work that has undergone variation over time. The artist obsessively collected items considered 'Eastern' or 'Korean,' such as ceramics, bonsai, surveillance cameras, sculptures, masks, and traditional paintings, filling the walls with these elements.
 
By gathering objects that may seem ordinary to specific groups, Kim critiques the Western-centric attitude that easily and simplistically defines what is 'Eastern' without considering context.
 
In this way, Kim has addressed the structural issues inherent in our society while also conveying the stories of various individuals living within it relatable and humanly, fostering empathy. The artist seeks to uncover something that is not solidified into mere illusions of universality in our fluid and uncertain contemporary society, continuously creating art as a platform for public discourse where society can reflect together.

"For an artist, how you see things seems to be more important than what you see. An artist constantly breaks down stereotypes and prejudices through their stance and attitude, engaging in thoughts toward true equality and freedom."

Kira Kim majored in painting at Gachon University and obtained an MFA from Goldsmiths, University of London. The artist began his solo exhibition career in 2006 at the King's Lynn Arts Centre in the UK and has since held numerous solo exhibitions at various institutions, including Kukje Gallery, Doosan Art Center, Alternative Space Loop, and Boan1942.
 
He has participated in major international exhibitions such as the Gwangju Biennale, Busan Biennale, Jeju International Biennale, Liverpool Biennial, and Nanjing Triennale. He has received the ‘Korean Art Critics Association Artist Award’ (2024), the ‘Cultural Promotion Award for Overseas Contributors’ (2019), and the ‘Today’s Young Artist Award’ (2009). Additionally, he was a finalist for the ‘Korea Artist Prize’ in 2015.

References

• 올해의 작가상, 김기라 (Korea Artist Prize, Kira Kim)
• 국제갤러리, Super Mega Factory (Kukje Gallery, Super Mega Factory)
• 현대자동차, brilliant 30: 김기라 - Projects - ART| 현대자동차
• 대안공간 루프, 김기라 개인전: 선전공화국 (Alternative Space Loop, Kira Kim Solo Exhibition: The Public of Propaganda)
• 갤러리 노마드, Floating Village (Gallery Nomad, Floating Village)
• 제14회 광주비엔날레, 김기라 (The 14th Gwangju Biennale, Kira Kim)