Kangmin Kim
Kangmin Kim (He/Him) is a multimedia artist focused on creating short form art films. He grew up in South Korea in his youth, New Brunswick in his teens, and Edmonton for his undergraduate degree in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program. Kangmin works within a digital space and creates multidisciplinary animations based on his personal experiences of what it feels like to be human in an unforgiving world. Kangmin’s practice draws inspiration from the themes of one’s past, present and future, the inevitable human experience, and how that manifests physically within animated beings. Kangmin has worked as an animator and game artist for different companies and productions, namely, DanPlan Ltd and DoubleJump games. He likes playing video games and sports, going to the gym and hanging out with friends and family.
Artist Statement
Utilizing digital motion tracking, compositing, editing and frame by frame animation, I wish to create a non-linear narrative film with uncanny visuals representing the psychology of people. The film will be a compilation of animated scenes of humanoid beings contorting, disfiguring and deforming as a metaphor for various psychological stresses. I wanted to explore the physical manifestation of stress, anxiety, uncertainty, regret and fear. Caused by the multitude of factors as an Asian immigrant living in a foreign country, pursuing a field that isn’t financially secure or respected, having to leave family and friends, abandoning so much of what I desire in favor of an uncertain future. I always wondered what my life would have been like, not having moved to Canada, pursuing a different life, with different people and different decisions. My identity as an artist feels like it is dependent on my ability to be vulnerable, the truth is I am scared and regretful I didn’t chase after the things I wanted for myself, a victim to anxiety and having to bear its consequences for myself. It almost feels as though these fears have controlled my life and the way I look, react and traverse through my life. My art reflects the fears and uncertainty about my world. Feeling alone, incapable and hopeless in the evermore sociological landscape of my life, the expectations of myself and others. I wish to create a work that embodies that nihilistic attitude and the metaphorical ways it manifests itself on us and our surroundings. What is my purpose in life? Am I really pursuing what I want and how much of my life is controlled by irrational fears? What would those fears look like?
Falling Through (Still 1), 1920 x 1080 pixels, Digital Animation and Film, 2023
Falling Through (Still 2), 1920 x 1080 pixels, Digital Animation and Film, 2023
Falling Through (Still 3), 1920 x 1080 pixels, Digital Animation and Film, 2023
Falling Through (Still 4), 1920 x 1080 pixels, Digital Animation and Film, 2023
Falling Through (Still 5), 1920 x 1080 pixels, Digital Animation and Film, 2023
