Life-Size Steel Sculptures Imagine Complex Root Systems as Human Figures

A post shared by Sun-Hyuk Kim (@sunhyukk) on

Artist Sun-Hyuk Kim takes inspiration from complex root systems found in nature to construct the human form. Each sculptural figure sprouts a branch or sometimes a small tree, appearing to be some type of human-botanic hybrid. The large, stainless steel sculptures feature fragments of faces, headless bodies, and figures crouching towards the ground as if they are overcome by a great weight on their backs.

Kim’s minimalist sculptures allow us to project ourselves onto each of his pieces. They communicate fragility. We all know how it feels to be pulled in different directions and the often-uncomfortable state of growth and change. But in having this knowledge, it connects us together and reminds us that the human experience is vast and ever-changing—just like that of a tree.

Although it can feel like our own problems are insurmountable, Kim intends for his work to show how we’re just one part of the great big world. As a spiritual person, he recognizes a higher power that puts things into perspective. “Everyday, anywhere,” he says, “I realize that we are so little [compared] to the works of God.”

Artist Sun-Hyuk Kim creates stainless steel sculptures that imagine the human form as a complex root system.

A post shared by Sun-Hyuk Kim (@sunhyukk) on

A post shared by Sun-Hyuk Kim (@sunhyukk) on

A post shared by Sun-Hyuk Kim (@sunhyukk) on

A post shared by Sun-Hyuk Kim (@sunhyukk) on

A post shared by Sun-Hyuk Kim (@sunhyukk) on

A post shared by Sun-Hyuk Kim (@sunhyukk) on

A post shared by Sun-Hyuk Kim (@sunhyukk) on

A post shared by Sun-Hyuk Kim (@sunhyukk) on

A post shared by Sun-Hyuk Kim (@sunhyukk) on

A post shared by Sun-Hyuk Kim (@sunhyukk) on

Sun-Hyuk Kim: Website | Instagram | Saatchi Art
h/t: [IGNANT]

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Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled "Embroidered Life" that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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