Bottari by Kimsooja

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Kimsooja, Bottari (2005) National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (EMST)

Bottari (2005) was created by the artist Kimsooja, who was born in 1957 in Taegu, South Korea. Bottari are site specific pieces which incorporate clothing from the cities which exhibit her works. These Bottari, which were exhibited in Athens, contain used secondhand clothes from Athens and Kassel.

Bottari, which mean bundles in Korean, consist of bedcovers which encase one’s precious belongings.

“Traditionally in Korea, until well into the twentieth century, Bottari were constructed by gathering a person’s most important possessions inside a wrapping cloth, often at a moment when a person had to leave a native place behind” (Documenta 14).

Interpretations

Below are three different interpretations of the Bottari for a 2017 interactive art project made by refugees and asylum-seekers who were living in Athens at the time, demonstrating the vast ways in which people who have had completely different life experiences can bring their own stories into the conversation that art can encourage:

Bryan, Student / Zimbabwe

The bundles in Kimsooja’s work could symbolize refugees. Different colors in the fabrics symbolize the different cultures each of us comes from or the different race we belong to. Also, as bundles contain things that we cannot see, every refugee hides the ideas and talents that he has not been given the opportunity to reveal. It takes time and, perhaps, some day, the bundle will open and refugees will be able to make use of their abilities and talents. Only then will they feel free.

Idris, 17 years old / Afghanistan

The bundles that we saw in the work of Kimsooja are something we also make in Afghanistan. We may be from different countries, speak different languages, but we have some things in common. In one such bundle I would keep the book that I want to write about what I’ve been through in life. And when I get to the point where things will no longer be so hard for me, I will open it so I can read it and never forget what I’ve experienced.

Reem, 23 years old / Syria

Each bundle, or Bottari, in the work of Kimsooja could symbolize a person, each one with their own characteristics. The green one, for example, could represent the love we carry inside us. Inside my bundle, I would put those secrets that are precious to me. And the bundle would be tight, because I wouldn’t want anybody to see them. I do not agree with Mo-Sabi, that we must not keep secrets. I may have a special secret that I don’t want to share with others. I want to keep it for me. Even when I’m very happy, I want to keep it for me.

https://www.explore-vc.org/en/objects/kimsooja-bottari-2005-2017.html