When my solo show cancels, this is how I bring my art and writing to you: through Substack, directly to your Inbox!
You will receive a monthly newsletter beginning April 2021 with new and original art and story created by me. Currently, I envision this project as a 12 month experiment, but looking forward to seeing where this journey leads!
In March 2021, I was supposed to have a solo art exhibit, but due to COVID, those plans have fallen through. My sketchbooks are full of ideas for works I had intended to create for this show. Rather than putting them aside, I have decided to create them and share the finished works with you digitally. Every month, I will release one original work, as well as a little info about the inspiration behind the piece.
So, why is this called MOULTING? Moulting or molting, is the process of shedding old feathers, hair, skin, or shell, to make way for new growth. I want to revisit old stories and in the process, shed the past, the old skin, and expose new skin, new flesh, opening up the way for new growth.
We love our stories about heroes. We love badass women characters. I love them too.
But have you ever come across characters in stories, the minor ones who exist on the margins of the story, never overshadowing the protagonist, and yet they stay with you, long after you have finished the story? I have many of those, all women, who have filled the landscape of my imagination these many years. I’ve decided to finally commit to exploring each of them in turn. You may know some of them, or not. Some are powerful, some are weak. Some are vulnerable, some can be cruel. All have had their identities pinned to them, stripped of their complexity.
But we know that a story changes depending on who is telling the story. What if the story is told from the weak? The invisible one, the one who barely makes a blip in the hero’s plot. Are they still weak?
Perhaps I’m drawn to these characters because invisibility seems to get pinned on me so often. Most recently, with the increase in the violence towards Asian Americans, I, as a Korean Kenyan American woman, have felt this invisibility more strongly than ever before.
You might say, but Soyoung, these are ancient stories! A woman’s place in the world today isn’t the same as the times of these stories. Sure, we don’t require bridal money when we get married, but women are still fighting to get equal pay as men. Women still struggle to be heard in the workplace. While the contexts have changed, women are still fighting to be seen and heard, women still have to justify their existence in ways men rarely do.
By exploring these characters, by giving a modern voice to them, I hope to see them shed their restrictive skins and their past and metamorphose into full and complex women. By joining me on this journey, I hope we too can moult and find our own metamorphosis into the future.
For My Paying Subscribers
For those of you interested in supporting me with financial contributions, my eternal gratitude to you for your commitment and support!!
For $5/month (early bird discount right now - check it out!), you will receive a behind-the-scenes video of each project and see some of my studio practice. Perhaps if you are interested, we can even schedule virtual Q & A sessions! I’m open to ideas to making our virtual connection more meaningful.
Additionally, you can always find me on Instagram and Twitter @soyounglkim
Finally, I would so appreciate it if you share this with friends who may find my work and this topic interesting. Thank you!!
I look forward to seeing your work here.