About Kim

“Inspiration comes of working every day.”

―Charles Baudelaire

I’m Kim, a visual artist drawn to the strange poetry of overlooked materials.

My primary medium is cigar bands—ornate scraps of paper that once wrapped a moment of pause, ritual, or conversation. Most people discard them. I collect, sort, and assemble them into complex portraits that explore identity, presence, and transformation. Each piece is made of hundreds to thousands of individual bands, taking over 100 hours to complete. What begins as a heap of fragments becomes a cohesive image—a study in precision, patience, and narrative.

My earliest creative influences weren’t traditional. I was fascinated by comic books and bodybuilding magazines—not for their stories or instructions, but for their forms. I wanted to capture the exaggerated anatomy, the tension in every muscle, the quiet force behind a pose. I didn’t realize it then, but I was teaching myself how to see.

That early obsession with figure, line, and intensity continues to shape my work. Today, I draw from a lifelong curiosity about what we keep, what we throw away, and how meaning can emerge from unlikely places. My art invites viewers to look closer—because sometimes what seems like noise is actually the structure.

Thank you for being here. I hope my work surprises you.

If you’d like to commission your own piece, feel free to send me a message!