South Korea presents fascinating residential culture in a new exhibition

South Korea presents fascinating residential culture in a new exhibition

It is an unusual experience to enter a building just to find another inside. Therefore, it takes a moment to adapt in London when entering the second floor of the prestigious Tate Modern. Right in front of the entrance there is a scale replica of the childhood house of Do Ho Suh in Seoul, which he wrapped in mulberry paper and carefully traced in graphite in order to create a detailed image of the outside view. This work is just one of many home ideas that the Korean artist has designed in the past 30 years.

The exhibition "Walk the House"

The exhibition "Walk the House" runs in the Tate Modern until October and is Suh's largest solo exhibition in an institution to this day in the United Kingdom, where it has lived since 2016. Previously he lived in the United States after studying in the 1990s at the Rhode Island School of Design and Yale University.

The concept behind "Walk the House"

The title of the exhibition comes from an expression that in the context of " Hanok ", a traditional Korean house. These houses can be broken down due to their construction and the light materials and rebuilt elsewhere. Over time, they have become less common due to urbanization, wars and occupations that led to the destruction of many traditional houses in the country.

The childhood of do Ho Suh

Suh's childhood home was an outlier in the middle of Seoul's changing city landscape in the 1970s, which quickly developed after the Korean war when the city was in ruins. This experience has shaped the artist's constant thoughts about the home, both as a physical space that can be resolved and revived, as well as a psychological construct, reflecting memory and identity.

diverse exhibition elements

Among the exhibits are embroidered works of art, architectural models in various materials and standards as well as film work with complex 3D techniques. The detailed outlines, which were recorded in Suhs Hanok Rubbing, can be found in two closely related large-format work, which are shown for the first time and in which visitors can enter. "Perfect Home: London, Horsham, New York, Berlin, Providence, Seoul" (2024) combines various 3D facilities from the apartments where Suh has lived worldwide, and projects them to a tent-like model of his London apartment. "Nest/s" (2024) is a pastel -colored tunnel that is again based in different places that Suh has referred to as a home and connects the incongruent corridor - an environment that is symbolic for the artist.

looking for transition rooms

"I think the experience of cultural alienation has helped me to see these gaps, the space that connects places. This trip enables me to concentrate on transition rooms, such as hallways, stairs and entrances," said Suh at the opening interview with CNN. The exhibition also shows "Staircase" (2016), a 3D structure that later collapsed in a red, curved 2D network. "In general, we often concentrate on the goals, but we often neglect these bridges that combine these goals. Nevertheless, we spend most of the time in this transition stage," added Suh.

transparent works of art

A common feature of the works on display is their transparent quality. Fine, transparent textiles are used directly in many of the pieces, also in the form of a subtle room divider - the next, which could be defined as an internal wall in the main area. "For the first time since 2016, the galleries of the exhibition are demolished all the walls to make room for the numerous large -format work that are realized in it, as well as the different times and rooms that bring this work with them," said Dina Akhmadeeva, assistance curator for international art in the Tate Modern, which together with Nabila Abdel Nabi, the senior curator for international art in Hyundai Tate Research Center: Transnational, curated.

exposure of rooms and memories

The distance of the walls also reflects Suh's interest, returns to their basics. "It is only the bare room that the architects originally thought," he said. Suh's work often focuses on spatial experiences instead of material goods because an empty space, just like the rooms and buildings that we inhabit like a "container" for memories. "Over the years and time that you have spent in the room, you project your own experiences and energy on it, and then it becomes a memory."

preliminaryity in art

The artist occasionally also focuses on ornaments and furniture, as in his monumental film "Robin Hood Gardens", which is named after the residential area of ​​the same name in East London and uses photogrammetry to combine drone shots from the town hall that is waiting for the demolition. This represents a rare case in which SUH documents both the residents and their possessions. The film illustrates the subtle political aspects of Suh's practice. "Often color, craftsmanship and the beauty of my work steer from the political undertone," he said. Topics such as privacy, security and access to space are closely linked to classes and public policy, but his comment is hidden in a soft veil of fabric or the gentle pressure of graphite.

social policy issues and personal spaces

The exhibition is framed by works that address socio -political issues. "Bridge Project" (1999) researches land ownership questions, while "Public Figures" (2025), an evolution of a piece that Suh created for the Venice Biennale in 2001, shows an overturned monument with an empty socket that directs the focus on the many miniature characters that support it. For Suh, it should appeal to Korea's history of oppression and resistance. While these two exhibitions may work differently, all of his works question the boundaries between personal and public space as well as the conditions that enable preliminaryity or enable durability.

A reflective look at the home

The tensions between public and private space occurred particularly clearly during the pandemic when Lockdowns forced people to spend most of the time inside. Although Suh "took a close look at every corner of his home" during this time, the Lockdowns did not reflect in his practice, as you might expect. Instead, it brought a more delicate reflection on what is often at home: people. This explains why, among the important and often colorful structures, two small tunics for (and with) his two small daughters can be found in the exhibition, which are provided with pockets in which their favorite objects, such as colored pencils and toys, are located.

"As a parent, it was a fairly vulnerable situation. I can't speak for you for other families, but it really helped us to be together," said Suh.