Crossing the Ocean | Getty News & Stories

Artist Kyungmi Shin on tracing her roots through immigration and colonization, by Thuy Bui

Dec 08, 2021

“As an Asian American, I think a lot about dealing with identity in my work, and sometimes I would like to just, as a poet said, ‘write about flowers instead of books,’” said artist Kyungmi Shin.

“But now, I feel an urgency to talk about my heritage and myself in a poetic manner as well.”

Born Christian in Buddhist South Korea, Kyungmi Shin emigrated to the United States at age 19. Through the lens of her family’s experience, she traces her roots by investigating cross-cultural impacts, and the influence of Eastern philosophy on Western culture and spiritual teaching. In her latest works, painted collages and porcelains are juxtaposed with intimate family photographs, historical chinoiserie paintings, and Christian narratives found in medieval manuscripts.

Soaring Vulture, Noble Eagle, Moaning Dove, 2021

Acrylic on archival pigment print, UV laminate