Spotlight On: BJ Kim, sculptor & TBSSS alumni

Archive image of BJ working in the Studio

Name: BeomJin (BJ) Kim

What years did you attend classes at TBSSS?

I studied at the School from 2005-2012 (with Tom from 2005-2009). I was an assistant and casual teacher from 2016-2018.

What was unique about your TBSSS experience?

This is not so unique, but I’ve had the pleasure and honour of being a student, board member, assistant and casual teacher, and Management Committee member of the School. I hope to remain a Management Committee member for as long as I can! And oh I had the pleasure of compiling the Little Book of Tomisms – please take a look if you haven't seen it before! Click here.

What was your first impression walking in to TBSSS?

My first impression of the Erskineville studio, I think, was the same as the feeling I have almost every time I walk into that studio: a feeling of lightness, inner warmth, excitement and possibility!

What was your first impression of Tom?

“I’ve found my Guru!” I have an early image of Tom helping someone with their sculpture, wearing his signature white robe, with his white beard, under a beam of sun light… Tom was my Master Niklaus (from Herman Hess’s “Narcissus and Goldmund”). There’s a bit of a back story to this, which I won’t indulge myself in here! But the link to Hesse is why I called my first (and to date only!) solo exhibition “Death and the Lover”, the first English title of “Narcissus and Goldmund”.

What is your fondest memory of Tom and the Studio?

So many lovely memories of Tom at the School… receiving help and gems of wisdom from Tom, Margo or one of the teachers, sitting around at tea time and having a laugh (or hearing one of those gems being dropped), seeing Tom charging from one student to the next with his burgundy walker, Tom’s large and gnarly index finger pressing clay on to clay and suddenly bring a form to life…

How have your studies at the TBSSS prepared you for your practice?

Tom used to say something like, ‘at the school we teach you the fundamentals of form through the human body and then you can take that knowledge and make whatever kind of sculpture you like’. And I think that was right. Tom also taught a rare approach to design, through tapping into our unconscious minds (see more on this below). And there was also of course the rigorous training in traditional modelling, mould making and casting.

What was your favourite medium to work in?

I’d say clay is my favourite but I also enjoy stone and would like to do more with wood and mixed media.

What lessons / skills / concepts have stayed with you from your time at TBSSS? 

When I design, I still use the process that Tom taught us: I try to clear my mind (by meditating, or for me, usually by doing a few pages of stream-of-consciousness writing). I then make a “shopping list”, a list of “half a dozen” or so things of what I want the sculpture to be, such as, whether it will be abstract or figurative, horizontal or vertical, the feeling I want to convey, the materials I want to use, and the size. Then I put them in a “pot” and let them “cook”. When you feel an “itch”, Tom would say, then you’re ready to start…The itch might come a few hours or days or months later… I usually start by drawing until I see something that’s exciting. Tom would say, that that thing, a line, drawing or maquette or whatever, that starts you off, is like a line of a poem that has come from the realm of the unconscious mind for the poet. Then you have to “work like hell for the rest”! Tom quoting Michelangelo also always comes to my mind when I’m working: “You should be able to break a sculpture into a thousand pieces and every piece would be just as beautiful.” (This quote also appears in “The Little Book of Tomisms”.)

What inspires your practice today?

I’ve always gravitated to spiritual art – which for me is art that moves or inspires our soul or inner selves. For more on my sculpture please visit my website here.

Tell us about the works you are exhibiting as part of the 50th exhibition:

“do Geese see God?” (pictured above left)

do Geese see God? is a creature from the unconscious mind and an expression of the beauty of freedom experienced through the natural world. Although the references to birds and the spiritual are apt, the title, more than anything, is a play with words: it is a palindrome and like the sculpture itself, reads in two directions.

“flying horse” (pictured above right)

flying horse is intended to work on a number of levels. On one level, it represents the beauty, elegance, and power of the horse. On another, it seeks to evoke the feeling of wellbeing that comes from being associated with such a precious animal (though not if you get too close!). On a more abstract level, it hints at chaos: when the pieces of horse are whirring in space, and spiritual freedom or peace: when the pieces coalesce physically before you, or in your mind's eye – like a flock of starlings – into that mythical creature known to many ancient cultures. The spiritual freedom or peace flying horse symbolises is that moment with God, Nature, or the Unconscious Mind, which is so sublime, yet (like the complete image of the horse itself) is so transitory...

Anything else you would like to share:

Going through my old notes to respond to these questions, I was reminded of something that I’d almost forgotten. One of the most important gifts that Tom and the School gave me is a sense of belief in myself and my creativity. “We are all marvellous beings…” Tom would say… and when teaching, Tom would look so intensely at your work and take your work so seriously, whether you were a complete novice or a practising sculptor, that he gave you the feeling that your work was important and has the potential to be a masterpiece – if you work hard enough at it, that is! I would also like to pay tribute to Margo, the Teachers, Melanie (and all who have gone before her ending/starting with Anne), the Board and the extended TBSSS family for their tireless efforts in supporting the wonderful life and culture of the School. It only remains a “sacred place” and survives to this day because of your love and devotion. Thank you for enriching my life so immeasurably and congratulations for all you have achieved for the School and getting to it 50!!!

Thank you BJ!