Korean Artist Do Ho Suh Creates Replica of His Childhood Home for London Footbridge
Artist Do Ho Suh uses his new public art installation – featuring a traditional Korean house with a bamboo garden – to address the City of London’s migrant history.
Known for his immersive translucent fabric installations that explore themes of memory, identity and migration, Korean artist Do Ho Suh has created a sculptural installation with personal connotations for a new commission by Art Night and Sculpture in the City.
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On a footbridge above one of London’s busiest streets, Suh has installed Bridging Home, London (2018). In keeping with his practice – which focuses on the various domestic architectural spaces in which he has lived over the years – Suh has created a replica of his childhood home, complete with a bamboo garden, to be viewed from street level.
“It is hugely rewarding to create a public work in London, my adopted home,” said Suh in a statement about his first large-door outdoor installation.
“For me, a building is more than just space” the artist continued. “It is not only physical but also metaphorical and psychological. In my work I want to draw out these intangible qualities of energy, history, life and memory. While Bridging Home, London comes from personal experience, I hope it is something a lot of people can relate to.”
As an artist who has moved between countries and engaged new cultures, Suh is perfectly positioned to reflect upon the immigrant experience. Bridging Home, London (2018) is an intimate private space within an exceptionally public environment. It considers the divide and bond between domestic and urban space. Suh encourages the viewer to contemplate how these built realms shape our experience and our relationship to one another, and what home means to us collectively and individually, despite our locations or our backgrounds.
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“This unexpected apparition triggers a hiatus and a détournement, taking passers-by to lands far away,” said Fatoş Üstek, curator of the commission, in a statement. “Most importantly the piece activates feelings of home, belonging and remembrance that will resonate with viewers on their individual journeys.”
The work will remain on view for a minimum of six months as part of Art Night’s Legacy programme and Sculpture in the City’s ongoing strategy to transform London’s Square Mile into a sprawling urban sculpture park.
Do Ho Suh’s Bridging Home, London is on view 24 hours a day at Wormwood Street, EC2.
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