Sculpture Talk: Kimsooja

In the run up to Yorkshire Sculpture International, in partnership with Leeds Beckett University, we ran a series of talks with a number of artists exploring sculptural practice today, celebrating the Year of Sculpture. Each talk focused on key aspects of the individual sculptors’ practice, their careers and artistic journeys. Each artist focused on different key ideas, themes and experiences in order to give an insight into their practice. Kimsooja’s practice reflects traditional forms of female labour and craft, and for over 25 years the artist has been inspired by the forms and idea of ‘bottari’ – the South Korean word for a bundle wrapped in fabric. Traditionally used for moving possessions from place to place, the bottari references the displacement of people. Kimsooja has extended the idea to incorporate larger spaces and even architecture, meaning that whole buildings could also be wrapped to alter, contain and re-shape what was within.