Julie Kim

Fisher of Man

Jackson's Art Prize 2026
Oil
Canvas
101.6 x 76.2 cm

“In Fisher of Man, a girl carries a man under, one arm, while walking adjacent to snow covered land and the sea. The man looks to be half human, half fish, with arms limp and bent, dragged along the pavement. I am exploring an estranged relationship with a loved one, through the lens of catching and fishing–to bring them back home, physically, and emotionally–and releasing–letting them go.

In addition to personal experience, the inspiration here is twofold. The title takes from a scene in the bible, where Jesus recruits a couple of fishermen to be his disciples, promising he will make them “fishers of men” leading people to salvation. Also drawing on Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, I reflect the protagonist’s feelings of devastation, grief, and surrender at having lost the fish he fought so arduously for. The girl can be seen as both caretaker of her immobile, unconscious loved one, captor, and executioner.

The painting oscillates between love, grief, and forgiveness; intimacy and distance. A reflection of the color-changing sky is dappled on the water, evoking a sense of transience and impending closure, as she walks along the shoreline.”