Nicole Ji Soo Kim:
Ephemeral Re/connections: a series of 5 drawings

Mixed media paper, graphite
April - June 2023

Nicole is an interdisciplinary artist carrying a conceptual art practice that centers around her grief and
mourning. She explores the intricate process of understanding absence through drawing, performance and
text. Nicole’s interest lies between grief and indifference. While the two terms seem polarizing, she has come to an understanding that mourning is work which we have always tended to; mourning is work which is ceaseless and what could be mourned is extensive. With recognition of our mundane and ordinary modes of being, Nicole researches both tangible and intangible losses which generate grief to co-exist with our day to day.

_{Documentation courtesy of Alison Postma}

Ephemeral Re/connections is a series of 5 drawings exploring the concept of Continuing Bonds Theory, a postmodern theory of grief and bereavement which validates the survivor's relationship with the deceased continues after death. Through exploration of dark and light with the process of erasure, restoration and layering, I reconstruct meaning after loss through an internalized, symbolic connection with my loved ones. Organic, fluid imagery is layered above ridgid, time consuming under drawings of grids and squares presenting the contradictions which arise within my grief - anger/ love, disarray/ control, avoidance/ obsession. The plumb bar acts as the location where many people gather for socialization through drinks, inquiries and as the first designated gathering space when entering the gallery. Through abstract drawings, I create an image that portrays the continued relationships to the deceased in a social and living space.

I listen to my intuitions which have suddenly become your words. I turn a year older and so have you. I imagine your reactions knowing who you are. I hear your laugh when our secrets appear before me. When something sad occurs I feel your devastation. I hold onto our messages as documentation of your voice. As I oscillate in my grief, our relationship develops in its own way. Our friendship and sibling bond grows in an invisible way that is individual to us. You once said, “I am listening. Please keep talking to the world in your own way” and now I say, “I am listening. Please keep talking to the world in your own way.”