Parachuting through life, art - Suh Do-Ho's solo show

Working under the larger theme of examining the viewer's space, Suh's pieces question the relationship between the individual and the masses. Many of them work under military-inspired themes. While they are encoded with personal meanings for Suh, they also shed light on Korea's militaristic culture, something often forgotten by a younger generation more obsessed by their cell phones and K-pop stars than an invasion from North Korea.

This is only the fourth time that Suh, 41, has exhibited his labor intensive pieces in Korea. It is his first solo exhibit here. Although he travels frequently from his studio in New York to one in Seoul, presenting his works to a Korean audience has a particular significance, he said.

"I'm very curious about (the Korean audience's reaction). Koreans are not really good at expressing what they are thinking and feeling; I don't think they're trained to do that. I don't know what they think about my work and that makes me nervous," he said Tuesday, at a press preview for his show.

Six of Suh's pieces are a part of the show. The second floor holds "Floor," "Doormat:Welcome," "Who Am We," and "Some/One," works that have made him well known in the international art scene.

The third floor shows two new pieces, "Paratrooper-1" and "Karma." Suh described "Paratrooper-1" as being a kind of self-portrait, describing his experience of going to the United States for the first time. A shiny, metallic soldier pulls 3,000 taut, pink strings linked to the signatures of different people, sewn into a kind of parachute on the wall.

"If there's no parachute, then the soldier dies. He has to use it. But when he finally lands, he has to fight in a completely unknown territory. That's something I felt when I went to the United States. It's a parachute that is directly tied into your life," he said.

There is a somber air in the exhibition space, even though Suh, who spoke like a martinet, often employs cartoon-like figures to flesh out the process of accumulation in his works. A suit of armor emerges from a sea of army dog tags, placed like fish scales upon the ground. 180,000 plastic figurines are placed under glass, holding up the weight of the viewers only through their sheer numbers in "Floor."

"The glass is just floating above the figures. Each piece is small and weak but when they are gathered together, they can support the weight of the viewer," said Suh.

Yet it's not the sheer numbers of the accumulated pieces or the thought of how much labor went into the works that makes them stand on their own. Their Goliath-like presence creeps up on viewers, almost as if we know there is some hulking thing standing behind us. When we turn around, this ghost scatters into thousands of tiny faces that dissipate into the walls, like in "Who Am We."

Suh was born and raised in Korea, attending Seoul National University to study oriental painting. After he finished his military service, he went to school again at Rhode Island School of Design and Yale University, this time dropping painting and picking up sculpture and installation. He was pushed into the spotlight of the art world after exhibiting his work at the 2001 Venice Biennale.

Suh Do-ho's solo exhibit will run at ArtSonje Center until Sept. 7. For more information call 02-733-8945.

<By Iris Moon, Korea Herald>