HOW TO TELL AN HONEST STORY with textile artist Woomin Kim
Every time Woomin’s work pops up in my feed it’s like a quilty dopamine hit. Her appliqued wall pieces depict scenes from her life in Queens, New York and back home in Korea. And you don’t have to see very many of her pieces to realize that her world is abundant in story-telling objects and almost completely devoid of pesky and interfering humans. To hear her talk about how in her previous sculpture practice, she often felt alone, solo on stage, but now having connected with fabric, she never feels alone surrounded by the rich narratives textiles carry.
In this SEAMSIDE conversation, Woomin and I reflect on:
① why objects make better story-tellers than humans
② how to capture a sense of home no matter where you may be
③ what our daily spaces reveal about us
WHY LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE?
Woomin Kim shares her journey from sculpture to textile collage, using fabric to narrate personal and communal stories. Central to Woomin’s work are the themes of home, identity, and the unseen labor embedded in everyday objects and environments. Woomin's reflections on her work, including projects like the Korean street market series and the intimate portrayals of personal spaces, offer a deep dive into the emotional and cultural layers textiles can convey.
REFLECTION PROMPTS
How do the objects and spaces around you tell your story? Consider creating a textile collage or a sketch that captures a meaningful scene from your life, focusing on the narrative power of inanimate objects.
The significance of labor, both visible and invisible, in Woomin's work prompts us to consider the unseen efforts that shape our daily lives. Spend some time journaling about the labor, either your own or that of others, that goes unnoticed in your community, and the impact it has on your perception of everyday objects and spaces.
Inspired by Woomin's project on Korean street markets and her focus on the communal and cultural aspects of these spaces, think about a community space that holds significance for you. How does this space reflect the culture and values of the community, and how could you capture its essence in a creative project?
THREE ARTISTS THAT WOOMIN THINKS YOU’D LOVE
HELPFUL RESOURCES
→ Join the QUILTY NOOK: A Curious (and Sometimes Feral) Online Textile Community https://nook.zakfoster.com/
→ Top Ten SEAMSIDE Episodes Guide https://gift.zakfoster.com/pzp
→ Weekly Email Goodies from Zak https://nook.zakfoster.com/newsletter/
→ Visit Zak’s website https://www.zakfoster.com/
→ Follow Zak on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/zakfoster.quilts
