Joon was originally a painter interested in exploring the dynamics and tensions that exist between the mental and physical realms. Kim Joon was first interested in tattooing while in college and serving in the military in Seoul, Korea.

Joon’s current works however are described by the artist as "paintings" as he uses water based markers to create the designs. Kim Joon is still fascinated by the tensions of the mind and body. He is also intrigued by the concept of the permanence of tattoos as a vehicle for marking ones soul.

"I am interested in tattoo as a metaphor for hidden desire or a kind of compulsion engraved into human consciousness. I see the skin, or in some cases the monitor, as an extension of a canvas.

My earlier tattoo paintings were 3 dimensional canvases in the form of lumps of flesh or parts of a body, such as a muscular arm. Tattoos can reflect individual and collective reality or displaced desire."

(Kim Joon)

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