Flowers alive in sculptural portraits
- Bum Mi's work combines painting and 3D artificial floral art
- She runs her studio in Paju, where she also teaches her students
- The mood of her pieces changes depending on the background’s colour, light and texture
By combining her expertise in painting with floral art, Bum Mi Kim creates works in which the flat surface of painting and the 3D form of flowers meet. After majoring in western painting at university, she worked for over 20 years as a florist. "I realised that no matter how beautiful the flowers are, they cannot stand out without a harmonious background," Bum Mi says. To address this, she started applying a backdrop-painting technique to her floral work, so the flowers appear their best and blend naturally with the painted setting. "Years of working with fresh flowers left me wishing their beauty did not fade so quickly," Bum Mi says. "I asked myself if it is possible to create nature that does not disappear." This is the very question that led her to embrace artificial flowers as a genuine artistic medium.
Interview
- Why did you choose to work with artificial flowers?
- I see artificial flowers as a distinct artistic medium, not as imitations. Fresh flower works fade quickly and subsequently exist only in photos, but artificial flowers last and can be appreciated over long periods of time. Many viewers do not realise my pieces are made with artificial flowers, so the work itself shifts their perception.
- What do backdrops add to your pieces?
- I use backdrop painting to create the ideal setting for my flowers. By designing the background first, I shape the atmosphere of the piece. Even with the same flowers, the artwork’s mood changes depending on the background’s colour, light and texture.
- How do you balance painting and flowers in your work?
- Neither material is more important, they are two pillars that complete each other. The painting comes first to set the mood and depth of the work, and the flowers add vitality onto it. In short, painting creates the space, and flowers create the emotion.
- Is there an aspect of your craft that surprises people?
- Some people think I simply attach artificial flowers onto a painting. However, my work involves complex and highly precise techniques, including painting, sculptural design, structural planning and flower processing. Large pieces require especially long, physically demanding hours.
Bum Mi Kim is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2015 and she started teaching in 2017
