selection by @arthemort

June Kim is a Korean artist who has been working for more than 10 years on the contemporary rehabilitation of an ancient Asian belief:

“An invisible red thread connects all those who are destined to one day meet…”

With June Kim, the common thread takes the form of sculpture, installations, images, or videos that visually represent invisible human relationships materialized by the connections of our social networks. She visualizes this invisible connection of human relationships in three-dimensional architectural sculptures. She uses red thread to construct abstract shapes to create an imaginary world representing a surreal human network structure. She sews and ties knots in mystical red thread and places them in a conceptual, laminated, transparent plexiglass box, made of acrylic sheets and perforated with digitally drawn dots to signify the invisible stages of human relationships.

Artwork: Vision of Redthread in 4 Seasons : [Winter] Tie, 2024. 1/1, minted on Foundation

Her design intent and material choices contain controversial juxtapositions drawn from the Yin and Yang philosophy of my Asian heritage. The invisible human network found in her work is composed of contrasting aspects — strong, artificial plexiglass versus soft, natural wire; digital drawing and laser cutting versus old-fashioned needlework; contemporary medium versus traditional medium; mathematically directed digital process versus spontaneous and instinctive process of sewing.

The actual numbers of points drawn digitally are based on existing, ongoing data from her current number of Facebook friends. These numbers are translated into meticulously laser-etched dots on Plexiglas to form a digital diagram. These diagrams sketch the basic shape of an imagined abstract social circle and constructed social network relationships, much like constructing a traditional family tree or a contemporary infographic social network. June connects the dots by hand-sewing pieces of red thread to suggest the connecting threads between the “friends” in her social media network. The interaction of different friend numbers and the size of the plexiglass shapes correspond to the diversity of human interaction in many social circles during the multiple stages of our lives.

Artwork: IMUGI Dragon, 2024. 1/1, minted on Foundation

June Kim’s sculptures and installations have taken various forms due to the organic nature of human relationships in social media. The final abstract form becomes the outer, physical reality of the invisible network housed in my inner artistic vision. The Red Thread sculptures and installations are a lifelong project that she will continue to develop in order to innovate her initial vision and open up the possibility of evolving these works into large-scale visualizations of the relationships built in human social networks.

Source: June Kim - Artist Statement