Do Ho Suh: Walk the House
An exhibition with SU much heart!
Another amazing exhibition has landed at the Tate Modern this summer and this exhibition is by Korean artist Do Ho Suh, who takes us with him to explore the notion of “home”.
He has lived in Seoul, London and New York so he doesn’t really know which to consider his home; a feeling that most international students share.
To Suh, “home” isn’t a fixed place but it is something that changes over time and is constantly being redefined as we journey through the world.
In this exhibition, we will see architectures and buildings that Suh used to live in and see the interconnected-ness of it all.
When you first step in, the first thing you would notice is the big traditional house on the right and the colourful structure on the left.
The model of a traditional house is actually a replica of Suh’s childhood home in Seoul. To make this replica, he uses a method of ‘loving gesture’ where he rubs people over his entire house to replicate the little details of the house.
This technique reminds me of paper mache craft but in a larger scale with more precision and care; you can see the thought and care as you admire the model.
Behind the model of the house displayed two of Suh’s short films, exploring apartment blocks in Seoul and London respectively.
The buildings were about to be torn down but before it was Suh used several filming techniques such as a drone to capture the life inside the buildings.
I think the part of the exhibition people were most interested in was the colourful structure in the middle since it was the main attraction of the exhibition.
This is because Suh has used a Korean technique called “fabric architecture” to recreate rooms of his home across Seoul, London and New York and connecting them together as a continuous space. You can walk through this structure and see the intricate details of the “rooms” and the heart and soul Suh has poured into this piece.
It was definitely my favourite part of the exhibition because everything was beautifully detailed.
At the end of the colourful display, there is another “room” of fixtures one would have in the home such as lamps, telephones, toilet railings and door knobs in the same fabric architecture technique.
It was amazing to see different types of patterns can be done to recreate different styles of the fixtures. It was truly remarkable and it made you think that Suh has really poured his heart into his works.
There are also sketches and drawings of his idea of home around the entire exhibition, which are really interesting to look at—some looks like a child’s drawing and others with more precise and detailed sketches and strokes.
At the end of the exhibition, Suh’s current project is shared with the visitor. His plans now are to build a bridge that connects his home in Seoul to London to New York.
It sounds ridiculous but at the same time it’s a brilliant idea in theory.
However, there are several issues, such as political, social and ecological problems, would arise if a large-scale project like this is carried out.
The exhibition is really a beautiful one and I would recommend this to people who are interested in architecture or even just share the same feeling with the artist of trying to find an idea of “home”.
The exhibition only costs £5 for people within the age of 16-25, with the Tate Collective account which is free to register for. Take advantage of your youth and enjoy this opportunity!
The exhibition will run until October 19th, 2025
By Althea Scully