KIM WHEE-LEE – Greenland as inspiration

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27-year old Kim Whee-Lee from Goyang-si in South Korea has studied at the College of Fine Arts in Seoul, majoring in oriental painting. Last year she left her job to concentrate on art.

Text: Mads Nordlund, greenland today March 2015

– Now I concentrate on my paintings and I hope to make a career as a painter and professional illustrator, says Kim Whee-Lee.

Paintings
She tries not to paint too naturalistically and she uses her imagination to create a story in every painting.

– If I, for instance, have been travelling I paint some pictures which are inspired by my trip. People often talk about which countries they have visited and where they have been. For me, it is more important to express something about who I travelled with and what I felt about the places I visited, she explains.

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Interested in Greenland
Last year, a friend told her that Greenland is incredibly beautiful.

– After looking at so many pictures on the internet, I was impressed by Greenland’s nature. I saw many unique places – I don’t think there is anything like them in other countries.

– Since I already love to paint landscapes I tried to paint my own version of different pictures of Greenland as I imagined it. I have since focused more on Greenland than on other countries.

– I don’t think photos can show everything. They are en expression of someone else’s choice of motif and angle. They don’t tell you what it is like to be there yourself. This is why I would love to visit Greenland.

– Although I became interested in Greenland by chance, I now feel that it has almost become a necessity for me to travel round the country myself one day.

– I also hope that people want to travel to Greenland after they have seen my paintings, she says.

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Greenland seen from the outside
The young artist thinks that Greenland is impressively large compared to South Korea.

– There are so many fantastic places in Greenland that look completely different compared to South Korea, she says.

– But I think we have something in common. We South Koreans love our country. In the comments on greenland today’s Facebook, I can see that Greenlanders also love Greenland, ends Kim Whee-Lee, who is now concentrating even more on painting landscapes.

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OMSLAG_23 < Read the story in the magazine and see all the pictures. Page 26 – 27