JUne kim

about the artist

New York- based artist June Kim is best known for her performative photographs and videos of herself and her wolf-like dogs. Kim creates scenes which explore female identity, desire, and beauty. The ever present dogs appear across all the types of media in ways that are metaphorical as well as diaristic, and provide a portal to the mything and primal. Her work has been exhibited internationally, and featured in magazines such as BOMB, Crush Fanzine, Fanzine (by Luis Venegas), and VUU.

I started this body of work at a time when I became exposed to a voodoo ceremony in New Orleans, which made me question spirituality and it’s practices. At around the same time one of my three Siberian Huskies was suffering from cancer. When it was her time to go, I couldn’t believe I would never see her again. I have lost friends and family to cancer, suicide, and tragic accidents, but this loss was different.

Dogs are pure of heart, and embody complete innocence. Dogs do not start wars or conduct mass genocide. To quote from Women Who Run With Wolves, “Dogs are the magicians of the universe. By their presence alone they transform grumpy people into grinning people, sad people into less sad people; they engender relationship...”

Christianity, being one of the most popular and recognized religions, was the perfect vehicle for me to express the saintliness, and godliness of dogs while still making it accessible for viewers. Utilizing references from early Italian Renaissance paintings, I photographed myself with my huskies, and then painted on the photograph. The photograph and the paint represents two different planes merged into one - the spiritual and the real. This series is an examination of life, death, achieving divine knowledge, and humanity.

• June Kim