On the heights of the capital, at the exit of the Jourdain metro station, the bar-tabac La Gitane looks like any small Parisian café, with three or four tables lined up along a wall. But, if you take the wide circular staircase, the place takes on a festive air: an ornate railing makes geometric shapes dance under music hall spotlights and Bakelite adorns the walls of the first floor. Two neon signs – tobacco carrot and metro ticket – illuminate our guest through a large bay window.
The night is undoubtedly what could best define Park Ji-min, a 35-year-old South Korean visual artist and actress, living in Paris. First, because she made her film debut in the film Twilight Return to Seoul, by Davy Chou (2022). His character, Freddie, sails through a haunting night in search of his origins, letting go of his anger and melancholy in the streets and phosphorescent clubs after midnight to come to terms with the idea that something will always be missing. And then because Park Ji-min has long frequented the best queer parties in Paris: Flash Cocotte, Trou aux biches… “It was safe”she says.
Berlin backrooms
During her last year of studies at the National School of Decorative Arts in Paris (Ensad), she even treated herself to a round trip to Berlin every weekend to dance at Berghain, the Mecca of techno. She goes there jogging, wearing sneakers, to exhaust herself, sometimes twenty-three hours in a row. Real sport. “It’s like we were in hell, but it was paradise”, she formulates. Every week, she found a community of dancers there, self-taught like herself, sneaking into the backrooms and sliding from people to people along the corridors under gigantic ceilings. “I haven’t drunk alcohol for six years. It brought out my violence… Fights went bad”, she says with a smile, in a hushed voice which gives the impression that she is now in perpetual search of gentleness. She orders hot water to prolong her green tea.
Sobered, she exerts herself at work. It’s almost his last day on the set of The HouseFrench series from Apple TV+ on the world of haute couture, with a slew of celebrities, Carole Bouquet, Lambert Wilson, Amira Casar, Zita Hanrot, Anne Consigny, Florence Loiret-Caille. “Actress, why not? No career plan. » She has just exhibited at Swab Barcelona Art Fair, at the Sillon festival in Drôme, and is preparing to leave for a residency in Brussels to create the sets for a young performer, Agathe Meziani. Inspired by her dual Franco-Korean culture, she creates large abstract works in her workshop in L’Ile-Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis) and edits videos from her endless collection of images. She shows us… A red and yellow cloud: “A dragon, right? » A puddle of water on the sidewalk: “A beautiful poodle? » A mended Pokémon plush: “A trashy Pikachu? »
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