From the Series
Cases of multiple personality disorder have fascinated writers, filmmakers and creatives the world over. From the gothic 1886 novel, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, to more recent television talk shows that boast titles like Meet the mother with 20 personalities, we’re fascinated with the multiplicity of the human psyche. Enthralled by this idea, book designer Jimin Kim created an award-winning book of illustrations, Hyde & Seek to depict the journey we take to meet the strangers in our minds.
“There have been many things that I could not understand about human behaviours in this world, especially like wars, terrors and all sorts of cruelties,” explains Kim. “For this reason, I have been trying to understand human beings through psychology, anthropology, history, evolutionary biology and more.”
With a foundation in English Literature, Kim designed Hyde & Seek as her major project for her MA Illustration course at Kingston University. The concertina style book contains 12 pages of original etching prints. To represent the idea of the alter ego within us, Kim split the pages into sections. The almost modular design allows the user to make their own compositions as they turn the page.
Her work was recently chosen as the Overall New Talent winner of AOI World illustration awards in the UK. According to Kim, her project is more than illustration.
“I’ve always been interested in creating narratives and combining it with a book format. When we make a book, we need to consider many things such as layout, font, cover design and even materials that match the contents of a book, including illustrations,” she says. “However, illustration is the backbone of my work so I always try to make striking images to convey the narrative effectively.”
The book will be published in South Korea this year. Kim is currently working on her second artist book project.
