Feature: Chanel Kim
Bay Area-based multi-disciplinary artist Chanel Kim discusses her process of creating intuitive digital art and jewelry that explores what it means to survive.
By Betsy Podsiadlo | 4/1/24
Bay Area multi-disciplinary artist Chanel Kim creates intuitive digital art and jewelry that explores what it means to survive.
Through her research-intense work in product design for the tech industry, her emotion-forward illustration and digital sculpting, and her heritage-informed approach to jewelry creation, Chanel’s art practice embodies her multitudes.
Chanel’s artistic journey focuses largely on digital art, as she began with graphic design and then moved into digital sculpting and illustration. Chanel describes her creative practice as internally-lead and not adhering to traditional forms in most cases. Her most recent work allows her to push back on the effects of misogyny by exploring her own relationship to strength and softness.
“Society teaches you to not listen to your intuition and to act with so much focus on logic, precision and processes,” Chanel says.
Lead by spontaneity, Chanel explains “I never go in with a plan,” and instead allows her inner voice to direct where her art will go.
“So much of life is following things intuitively,” Chanel says.
After a particularly difficult and traumatic period over the last few months, Chanel found herself needing to rest and heal. Chanel thought she would be unable to continue creating art at the same dedicated level she had been previously. Instead, she ended up making more pieces than ever that she felt proud of.
“I actually needed to work through a lot of my emotions through the process of making,” Chanel says.
Chanel’s interest in expressing a “narrative of softness with an undertone of hostility and femininity,” inspired her to seek out visual references that spoke to that. Through this pursuit, she found herself deeply moved by an image of a two-headed bear.
After further research and exploration, Chanel began to notice signs pointing her to take this inspiration and interpret it as a self-portrait. One of those signs was a poem by Laura Gilpin entitled Two-Headed Calf, which explores the magnificence of identity and non-conformity through the metaphor of a newborn two-headed calf before it is discovered by humans.
“Sometimes you’re given these different signals and then you combine all of those signals into something that fits into your soul and your narrative,” Chanel says. And with these signals, she created her digitally sculpted self-portrait, Two-Headed Deer.
Trauma, uproar, and the instinct to survive have guided artists throughout the ages to create pieces that represent them in ways they did not previously understand. From heartbreak ballads to poetry written on the walls of internment camps, exploring the concept of self through survival of a traumatic event engages artists more deeply with themselves. And in return, the byproduct of that self-exploration allows its beholders to connect to their own deep wounds.
Chanel’s explorations in jewelry-making have led her to a deeper understanding of her Cambodian heritage. Chanel’s jewelry practice is about collective survival, inspired by the idea of “family heirlooms” and linking many generations through special items.
Chanel shares that past generations of her family were goldsmithing and jewelry artisans and business people. Chanel explains that during the horrendous genocide in Cambodia, artists were particularly targeted. When her family escaped and came to the United States, they used what jewelry they had left to pay for their living expenses. She also shared that to many Cambodian people, gold is considered highly protective.
To this day Chanel wears pieces of jewelry that survived with her family and have been passed down through generations. Chanel shares that she hopes through this ancestrally connective work that she can “redefine generationally what being a practicing artist means in the Cambodian community.”
As Chanel reflects on her art, she also recalls some practices she wishes she’d adopted sooner.
“Do a lot of shit and make a lot of shit,” Chanel says. Citing perfectionism –– a common plague on artistry –– Chanel explains that for so long she felt scared to commit to creating a body of work and sharing it.
“If I never try anyway, I’m not going to be disappointed,” Chanel says. She explains that it’s far easier to think about your artistic practice and abilities instead of dedicating yourself to making things consistently because to try and fail is not easy. She encourages emerging artists to make things, even if they don’t feel like they’re good enough yet.
When it comes to finding reference imagery, Chanel recommends looking offline. Citing her tech background, she explains that algorithms tend to feed many people similar content. Chanel offers the advice of delving into non-digital references through libraries and museums to yield more unique results.
Chanel also highlights the solitary nature of art, but that successful artistry is rarely truly solo.
“It’s not networking, it’s just having genuine friendships with people who you really respect and admire,” Chanel says. “If you’re showing up authentically too, I think only good things can happen to you.”
For so many, self-discovery is at the root of art-making. As artists, we unearth our authentic selves as we shapeshift and move through the seasons of our lives. Chanel’s artistry is no different because it changes and grows with her, connecting more and more to the root of who she is –– ebbing and flowing with her. The freedom she finds in that is ultimately what allows Chanel to continue exploring the many facets that make her and her artistic practice one of a kind.
To keep up with Chanel and her work, visit her Twitter, Instagram, and website.