Interview with Marina Kim

WINNER OF THE 2019 L.A. PAI NATIONAL JEWELLERY STUDENT COMPETITION

By: Emma Piirtoniemi
Published: 2020/02/13

A recent graduate of George Brown College’s Jewellery program, Marina Kim has produced a body of work entitled Labyrinth. Maze., which won her the 2019 L.A. Pai National Jewellery Student Competition. She says that the motivation behind her designs is the potential for jewellery to contain a hidden story or personal touch, and bring about joy or feelings of protection. Beyond displaying technical strength, her works reveal a sensitivity to the needs of the wearer. In her own words, she maintains “a strong intention to make jewellery with a kind soul”.

How did you initially get into jewellery?

When I was little I adored my grandmother’s big and shiny brooches, and my mom’s delicate gold earrings and rings. When I was in art college I wanted to wear unique jewellery and it was almost impossible to find anything that really reflected my personality. I tried to make something myself. I started with beads, then I found some wire and pliers. I got frustrated with my limitations. Eventually I found a jeweller who agreed to teach me some basic jewellery skills. I spent some time in his studio, he helped me buy tools and introduced me to a couple of his suppliers. This is how it began. 

What is the concept behind your winning collection?

The name of the collection is Labyrinth. Maze. There is a difference between these two, though I joined them into one concept. Labyrinths are ancient. Mazes came about relatively recently. A labyrinth is not a maze. It has no dead ends. Mazes are complex and require left brain thinking and logic. The labyrinth is a meditative tool that induces a contemplative, intuitive state. Usually labyrinths have a single circuitous path that winds its way into the centre and out again. The path is a symbol of life. In different stages of our life, the path is different. Most of the time it’s a maze with forks and dead ends. Finding your own path in life is a challenge. Going through a labyrinth is an internal path of accepting and understanding yourself which will help to go through a maze of everyday problems. My collection is personal labyrinths and mazes that people can wear and “walk”.

Do you have certain favourite techniques or materials?

One of my favourite techniques is piercing. It’s almost meditation for me. When I was sawing my labyrinth’s paths I realized at some point that I was walking a labyrinth again and again with my saw blade. Another technique that I love a lot is etching. I learned about it during the third year of The Jewellery Arts program at George Brown College. Etching allows me to apply my drawing skills to jewellery. It gives an absolutely unique touch to my creations.

The technical and material aspects of your work are very fine, especially with the Labyrinth ring. Do you see intricacy as a crucial part of your practice?

Intricacy was actually a goal for almost all of my works, because I was studying, and the attempts to make more and more elaborate jewellery allowed me to grow professionally. Regarding the Labyrinth ring, I pushed my limits, [and] intricacy was crucial. I wanted to put a lot in one ring. I wanted it to be like a big sacred place with a door to another world, that was kind of magically diminished into a ring. I remember looking inside the ring through the magnifying lenses of a laser welder, and I had a strange feeling of being inside the actual place. Almost like the ring happened by itself.

Historic legends, symbols, and folklore: what intrigues/moves you about these themes in particular? From where does this fascination originate with you?

I had to think hard about this question. I think legends and symbols are the essence of the time and culture to which they belong. Generally, the whole theme is an evolution of humanity; colourful and emphasized, filtered to only have important, vital details. Legends and symbols are tied to the desire to be alive and to be happy. Even the darkest ones are reminders about life and joy that you can lose. 

Another aspect why I like them: they are an escape from mundane life. People like fairy tales, fantasy and fiction because they distract them from boring reality. But legends are not just fiction, they have a strong element of reality. You never actually know what truly happened. For example, why [do] dragons exist in nearly every culture? Did they really inhabit our world and disappeared, or [do] they still live, how druids think, in parallel to our physical world? This is the beauty of legends. You never know and it’s easy to believe that it’s true.

In your collection, there appears to be a through-line of consideration for your wearer, like an element of caring that you have incorporated. Whether serving protective means in the Perun’s Flower ring, to the summation of life in Labyrinth ring. Where does this element of caring (or use whatever word you feel best fits here, if not caring) come from?

Protective jewellery exist[s] as long as jewellery exist[s] by itself. Everyone’s heard about talismans and amulets. I believe that people are strong and contain amazing abilities inside. They usually know how to help themselves, [but] the problem is believing in themselves and listening to their intuition. Protective jewellery gives this feeling of strength, support and focus, if you want. A person that willingly wears protective jewellery accepts that there is something inexplicable and thus becomes more intuitive. 

Any type of jewellery is meant to be worn. It is a small but meaningful detail that the wearer chooses to look better, to feel better. It is natural to think about the wearer, to care about his or her well-being. There is an old quote: “I am not a wizard, I am just learning”. This kind of summarizes what I feel when I create my jewellery. I want to help people from the bottom of my heart, to become stronger, kinder, to believe in themselves and find their happy path. 

What types of work are you most excited about making right now?

I got the job of a bench jeweller. I learn something new every day, and I am excited to become more professional day by day. My focus right now is quality and speed. Technical excellence is very important; it’s like obeying grammar rules in languages. What’s the use of interesting ideas if you can’t explain them properly?

Do you have any favourite artists (jewellers or non-jewellers) whose careers and work you admire? Why?

René Lalique is my absolute favourite jeweller. His jewellery is magic. The fantasy and execution is incredible. One of my favourite artists is Mikhail Vrubel, he explored legends and fairy tales in his brilliant works. His paintings are alive, fragile, gentle and mostly very sad. Gustav Klimt is another artist that I adore. His works are very decorative and look like they’re made out of jewels.

Since finishing school at George Brown College and winning the L.A. Pai competition, what is your current viewpoint/impression of both your past experiences and your future as a jewellery artist?

Studying in college wasn’t easy, but I did my best. We were super focused and pushed from one goal to another every day. Now I realize that, despite all the pressure, my life in college wasn’t that hard, because all my goals were set for me by my wonderful teachers and I was carefully and kindly led by them through all difficulties and obstacles. Now I am by myself. Free to decide where to go. I am happy to [be] work[ing] with a great team of professionals. Cool people, great purpose. I belong to their philosophy and am really happy to help.