Memoir

© Aram Kim. detail of Memoir, 2012. 

 

Ancient Korean drawings truly fascinate me. I had been exploring since the new year with imitating the soft brush strokes of ancient Korean drawings using soft ground technique of etching. At the end, after printing several small plates copying Korean masters from 19th century, I wanted to draw something that contained my own story. So, this piece came, the last print I pulled before the printshop closed for one month break. 

I thought of what had been important part of my life and integrated several elements including ari (my own first pet ever, a yellow baby chicken I bought from the vendor in front of my old elementary school), books, etching press, family photos and many many more. 

I remembered an old photo I saw from the family album long time ago that a small girl, me, was reaching out for an apple in the tree at the orchard our family visited, probably for pick your own apples event. She (I) was so excited and happy in the photo and her face was full of joy. Simple expectation of picking an apple from a tree by herself brought the girl the greatest delight. 

Starting from the photo, I drew out the memorable elements of my life. Looking back, sometimes, does give you an energy to walk forward.