South Korean Artist Reimagines Klimt’s ’The Kiss’ with Saharan Flair

Kim Sin-ae has highlighted the traditional costumes of the Sahara through a new interpretation of Klimt’s painting, combining the culture of the Middle East and North Africa with a touch of Korean writing. Painted from 1908 to 1909, Klimt’s The Kiss, an oil painting on canvas covered with gold leaf, is kept at the Belvedere Palace in Vienna. It depicts two embracing bodies, wrapped in a large golden cloak, love and compassion. To create her work, Sin-ae painted 23 traditional costumes from countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Syria, Egypt, Mauritania and Morocco in her versions of The Kiss and other cultural elements, including famous sites.

The former Qatar Airways flight attendant discovered her own artistic talents during the Covid-19 pandemic. Previously, she had visited museums and art galleries. "I decided to make the culture of the MENA region my main subject, because after living with Arabs for seven years in Qatar, I learned a lot about them," she tells Arab News. Her wish, she says, is to give Koreans a new perspective on Arabs, different from the one shown in the media.