"I seek to explore the layers of memory embedded within our inner selves through the medium of skin texture. By grinding tree bark into powder and layering it meticulously onto the surface of a form using lacquer, I evoke a process in which the skin of nature transforms into the skin of another being.

In this particular work, the final surface is covered with carbon powder. Carbon, as a material, holds traces of time; its dark particles reveal depth—of sensation, of memory, of existence. Through these particles, I aim to capture the time, the sensory imprints, and the fading traces of being that reside within the material.

Yet the powders do not remain on the surface as I intend. They scatter and disappear, much like how the memories we wish to preserve fade, while those we wish to forget linger with clarity. Material escapes my control, and within that loss, I begin to contemplate the temporality, the sensory nature, and the existential weight that matter carries. This work is a journey of layering the weight of memory within scattered material—a gesture to hold onto the vanishing traces of existence."

Kyeok Kim