'Home is the skin of memory'... Seo Do-ho unfolds 30 years of art world

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul is hosting a major solo exhibition of artist Do Ho Suh, a prominent figure in Korean contemporary art. The exhibition, titled 'Do Ho Suh,' provides a comprehensive overview of the artist's unique artistic journey over the past three decades, both domestically and internationally.

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We prepared this exhibition with a heart of Hwehyang, sharing works that have not been properly shown to Korean audiences for a long time.

Suh, 64, views 'home' not as a static real estate asset but as a 'skin of memory' that moves and breathes with the body. His childhood in Seoul, spent in a traditional Hanok while the country embraced modern housing, profoundly influenced his work. He reconstructs his past homes in various museums worldwide using translucent fabrics, allowing him to express his memories and experiences.

During a press conference, Suh explained his intention for the exhibition, which he considered naming 'Hwehyang' (a Buddhist concept of dedicating merit to others). He stated, "We prepared this exhibition with a heart of Hwehyang, sharing works that have not been properly shown to Korean audiences for a long time." The exhibition includes early childhood sketches, found objects from his youth, and over 200 drawings, revealing a different facet of his artistry beyond his well-known installations.

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The formative seeds of space, clothing, and architecture were all conceived at that time.

The exhibition features installations like 'Rubbing/Loving,' where he recorded traces of places he left or that disappeared, such as his childhood Hanok in Seongbuk-dong, by applying Hanji paper and rubbing graphite and colored pencils. Another significant piece is 'Perfect Home,' which layers elements from various homes he lived in, including door handles, outlets, and switches, from cities like London, Los Angeles, New York, Berlin, Providence, and Seoul. Suh detailed his meticulous depiction of these everyday objects, noting they were often touched during his 25 years living alone in a small New York studio, accumulating human energy.

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Most of these were made when I was single. Especially when I lived in a small studio in New York for 25 years, the switch and handle were the things I touched the most every day when turning on the light and opening the bathroom door. I felt these details were points where human energy accumulated, so I described them in detail.

Further into the exhibition, a virtual 'Bridge Project' connects Seoul, New York, and London, exploring the concept of an ideal home as a boundless form floating in the air. The exhibition concludes with 'Memories of Love,' a personal new work on paternal love, utilizing pockets from family members' old clothes to question the relationship between clothing and home. A large-scale unit work recreating the corridors and stairs of a New York apartment will be displayed in the 'Seoul Box' from December 18 until February 9 of the following year.

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If you track down physically possible methods, you eventually run into the contradiction of having to build a house on someone else's land near the North Pole. Ultimately, we are moving towards the conclusion that the perfect home must be a form that floats in the air, without boundaries.