Jiman Choi

Choi Jiman, artist from Korea. He graduated from Hong-ik University, Korea and received Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree as a ceramic major. He then went on his study in the Ceramic School of the Ohio State University, USA and received Master’s Degree. As an ceramic artist who was invited to attend the World Ceramic Biennale held each year in Icheon, Korea, he has held several ceramic exhibitions in USA, Japan and Korea. In 2008, he attended in the China Japan Korea Ceramic Exchange Exhibition -The Romance of Three Kingdoms held in the Modern Ceramic Museum in Foshan, Guangdong Province, China. Collections with Choi Jiman’s works include Museum of Arizona University, Archie Bray Foundation and Foundation of World Ceramic Exposition, Korea. He is now Assistant Professor in Ceramic Department of Sookmyung Women's University, Korea.

He started to use ceramics to produce figures in his works in 1997. During the period when he was studying abroad, he focused on the depiction of the inner world and emotional changes of figures; after he returned, he began to depict the outer world to criticize the society, so that a balance was achieved through the reflection of the external social values and expression of internal feelings. Some of his works, on the basis of traditional materials and historical themes, combine together the modern values and thoughts to predict the present—he has been trying to arouse a conversation between the past and the future. And communication and interaction are the most important things he would like to convey through his works about individuals and society, self-ego and others, as well as traditions and the modern times.

From his latest works, we can see that he was not only criticizing various social problems caused by lack of communication and interaction but was also trying to find the root cause. After he got married and became a father, his works for this exhibition is more of an animal world in fairy tales created by fathers for their children, with all the animals personified. The personified animal figures in his works stare at us, just like actors on the drama stage who are explicitly dressed up for the audience and willing to tell his own stories. Just like the personified animal figures in many fairy tales, these figures combine human faces and bodies of cute and queer animals we have imagined when we were young. Their faces can be any human face around us in our daily life and will also become images which can be studied by our off springs to observe ourselves, their ancestors. (http://www.arariogallery.co.kr/ch/exhibitions/exhibitions_current_view04.php?idx=152&mode=past&link=, läst 2020-02-12)