Do Ho Suh

A couple weeks ago I posted a photo by Do Ho Suh, a Korean artist living in the US. I really love his work, so I thought I'd put up some more examples. Do Ho Suh's work is impressive for it's intricacy and delicacy. Having moved from Seoul to New York a lot of his work is inspired by this relocation and the feeling of cultural displacement he has because of it.


Seoul Home/ New York Home/ Baltimore Home/London Home/ Seattle Home is an exact replica of his parents home in Seoul Korea that gains another name as it moves around the country. Being so far from home, he had a longing for a particular space and decided to recreate it and take it with him wherever he went. Suh distinguished between feeling homesick and feeling displaced. When discussing the origination of his idea for the Seoul Home piece Suh said that once he got to New York he couldn't sleep because everything was so loud. He thought back to the last time he had a really good nights sleep and decided that it was when he was at his parent's home in Korea, so he made that home for himself and took it with him when he traveled. That transportability is part of the reason the piece is so delicate and light. He actually carried the home packed in a suitcase with him on the airplane. When making this piece Suh traveled to Korea and measured everything in house down to the location of the holes in the wall. I don't know if any of us have ever paid such intensely close attention to a place where we lived and I think it must have given him a much more in depth understanding of a place that probably existed as an increasing distorted memory before.

348 West 22nd St., Apt A, New York, NY 10011 at Rodin Gallery, Seoul/ Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery/ Serpentine Gallery, London/ Biennale of Sydney/ Seattle Art Muse is a replica of his New York apartment. The title of this piece also accumulates a record of the places it has visited.

A lot of Do Ho Suh's work is also focus on identity and the relationship of the individual to the collective. He utilizes multiples to emphasize the power and strength that come from the collective, sometimes at the expense of the individual. Many small pieces that alone are insignificant are put together to create a whole that overwhelms the viewer. There is a great moment of discovery with many of these pieces when the viewer looks closer and discovers the semi-hidden details.


Floor - A glass floor supported by 180,000 small plastic figures. As individuals they are fragile, but together they can hold a great weight.

Screen


Doormat: Welcome (amber)



Some/One - Created from thousands of dog tags. Every Korean male must join the army and serve for 2 years. While Do Ho Suh was in the army he said he learned what it was like to be dehumanized.

There's a pretty good Art:21 on Do Ho Suh that you can watch through the libraries website. The gallery Lehmann Maupin also has a lot of images of his work.