Kim Jong-ku originally designed sculptures through the grinding of thick iron rods; however, one fateful day, he found his sculptures stolen from an exhibition held at a park in England where they were being displayed. This left him with nothing but the iron powder which remained on the floor of his studio that day, but undeterred, he began to use this to form his art. His work focuses on the nature of the iron powder, which does not pertain to a specific shape but rather presents a tone through its formless texture and colour. With the loss of his sculptures, Kim’s transition to working with iron powder began when he posed the question, “How can I measure the biggest and smallest in the world?”.

The creation of Kim’s work begins with the grinding of iron, but this process is more directly associated with the work itself, drawing parallels to the asceticism shown in Eastern philosophy. Iron, although feeling like an unnatural material, is extracted from nature and is one of the fundamental elements that make up the Earth. It is refined and used to form many things beneficial to humans, but can also be turned into a lethal weapon through the same process. The artist gives a spiritual value to the iron powder, a simple industrial material, using it as a material throughout his work to talk about the ambivalence of the world. And his works show a connection to this Eastern spirituality, yet represented through an industrial action, which can be seen to bridge a connection between tradition and the growth of modern society.

His recent work is Plant Sansu(山水) series. During the Corona pandemic, Kim began to think about humanism and nature, which led to him considering those things which cannot be easily seen, such as buried roots of a plant. These roots, although hidden deep inside in the soil, remain the most important part in giving the plant life. Kim expresses this aspect of the plant, using the roots to highlight the importance of the unseen in understanding the truth and vitality of nature.

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