“The home isn’t just a physical space. It is family, it is food, it is about culture and the stories and history that was made in that house,” says Korean artist Do Ho Suh.
Known for exploring concepts around this as well as the notion of private space in his work, Suh's six new works on view currently at Lehmann Maupin Hong Kong belong to his “Specimen Series”: Highly detailed life-size replicas of domestic objects from his former New York apartment (where he lived for 15 years), including a fridge and a toilet, all made out of sheer fabric. Each piece is flooded by bright fluorescent light from behind, emphasizing the transparency of the sculptures, which resemble three-dimensional X-ray scans.
The exhibition coincides with an installation the artist currently has on view in his native Seoul,“Home Within Home Within Home Within Home Within Home” at Korea’s National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. At the opening of the Hong Kong show, BLOUIN ARTINFO chatted with Suh about the new works and our peculiar attachment to everyday objects.
People say moving house is one of the most traumatic experiences a person can go through. Was it for you?
Yes, I think I read research that said the death of your own child is the most stressful, then it is betrayal by your spouse, then the third most stressful event is moving. Moving is very difficult, and creating this series has helped me to process it. When I first moved to the U.S., there was a sense of loss. I wouldn’t necessarily call it longing or homesickness, but there was a sense of an absence of something very important. That’s how I started to recreate my former home in Korea.
As you continue moving across the globe, will the series continue?
I never plan that way. Now that I'm leaving London, people ask me if I will turn the apartment into a piece. Well, yes and no. I never plan way in advance, but I doubt I will make another very big piece right away from my London apartment.
The title of these pieces, “Specimen Series,” suggests a scientific examination of things. It’s a bit cold and clinical, especially with the items lit from behind, like a specimen on a slide under a microscope.
I wouldn’t say it’s clinical. It’s an emphasis on decontextualization of the object. The original objects I spent so much time with for 15 years, they almost become a part of me. The process of making the items was actually a very caring and loving one. In my memory, I have this data of measurements and things like that so that I can recreate memories.
Why is the transparency of the objects emphasized here with the lighting?
When these objects were in a much larger installation context, they were lost in the rest of the installation. The installations were quite translucent too. You don't get this type of attention for these pieces. This is the first time that I want to show every aspect of the piece. So it is really transparent, there’s no mystery, no tricks. It lifts up the weight of the piece, it brings the piece to a different level.
They are quite spectral when presented in this manner.
Yes, they are like a shed skin of energy. You spend so much time in the home and touch these objects every day; if I had the ability to trace energy, I’m pretty sure there’d be an accumulation of the energy on the object. It’s almost like I’m peeling the energy off from the object to render that sort of intangible trace of touch.
Do you think we have a heightened relationship with our domestic space nowadays as more and more people stay isolated at home, only communicating virtually with the outside world?
It’s happening right now, and it’s constantly changing. I’m just fascinated that Internet and smartphone culture is changing. It’s almost like we’re evolving and this evolution is happening right in front of your eyes. It’s hard to grasp it to make any comment.
Would you say our home furnishings become companions to us in our everyday lives?
These objects are very important landmarks within our small apartments. A close friend in New York recently moved to a much bigger apartment, but her daughter didn’t want to move out because she has this very peculiar and close relationship with the doorknob on the door to her bedroom. So she didn’t want to leave the house because of the doorknob. People make an interesting attachment to this everyday life stuff.
Do Ho Suh at Lehmann Maupin Gallery, Hong Kong, until January 25, 2014, www.lehmannmaupin.com
