Haein Kim

Haein Kim is GlogauAIR resident
from July, 2025 to September, 2025

Haein Kim examines the unpredictability and potential of a moving state, either when commuting as an urban laborer or temporarily residing in foreign cities. This practice perceives liminality as a liberation, contradicting the productivity and efficiency demanded in the capitalistic world. Her works function as milestones in undefined spaces, marking her geographical and psychological journey.

She paints and writes, then assembles them into artist books. Their materiality takes an essential role in amplifying the concept: she utilizes paper textures and binding formats that resemble the works’ sentiments, absorbing the entire reading experience into the narrative.

Meet the Artist

Could you tell me about your background and the project you are proposing for your six-month residency here at GlogauAIR?

I majored in graphic design but I’ve always painted and drawn, so most of my previous works are published works like books. I would write texts and draw or paint images and combine them digitally. Now I am trying to apply them directly on paper or larger surfaces, taking more of a painterly approach in terms of medium.

My previous works mostly originated from what I had observed in my daily routines and familiar surroundings. In Berlin it is quite the opposite. I am more focused on the new stimulus the city gives me, and my current ideas come from this spontaneous input I’m absorbing.

How are you approaching the exploration of spaces that feel entirely new and unfamiliar for you here in Berlin, in contrast to those that have become familiar to you within your city in Korea? Have you noticed any particular emotions or states of mind that emerge from navigating these new spaces?

I wouldn’t say Seoul is a chill city – sometimes it feels busier than Berlin – but when you’re in public spaces there is more of a sense of distance. You have this exclusive personal space that no one breaks and comes right in front of you. That’s the atmosphere of my country, but here it’s more intrusive. There are extreme examples of getting cat called or spoken racism but not only that, there is just so much noise and encounters. Also, strangers would abruptly and casually talk to you, as if they are breaking through my personal space. At first I was taken aback and found this rather threatening, but soon after I started to acknowledge this environment and enjoy it.

At the moment I’m reflecting on these intrusive encounters with people or spaces, because whenever I let people approach me or provoke me, something interesting happens. Usually, if you’re caught off guard in these moments you would take this as very offensive, but when you are consciously examining it, the tension is quite entertaining. My current focus is the relationship between me and Berlin formed by these moments.

For the Open Studios at GlogauAIR, you are considering presenting your work through printed, painted, written, and possibly performative forms. Could you share more about how you envision these mediums interacting, and how their interplay might shape the presentation of your work?

Writing and painting were always coherent activities for me because I would add them together in books,but when I do that digitally they feel very separate, even if I try to blend them very well. Now I’m handwriting right on papers without any notes or script, no matter how bad the sentences are, blurting out whatever is in my mind. I think this shares the same approach as when I’m drawing, because I usually don’t spend much time in esquisse. By combining texts and images, I am tryingto discover a poetic rhythm by letting the elements collide. I’m trying to break down their boundaries and see what happens next. Also, I’m trying out a reading performance which is giving me a lot of inspiration, as I’m fascinated by the gaps of languages. When I write in Korean and translate to English, there are inevitable gaps that you have to acknowledge. I started to experiment with them to see how the meaning changes as they go back and forth in the languages. My writings are written in Korean, and I am translating them on the spot as I read aloud, varying the word choices depending on the situation. As I’m proceeding with this project, it becomes more interesting to me in terms of storytelling, because I get to choose the words wisely to make it more fluent and interesting to hear. This activity advises me how to narrate the story, as you have to keep throwing these little “treats” to keep the audience engaged.