Bottle Works Ethnic Art Center

Korean-born artist Yong Sook Kim-Lambert will exhibit her new works at the Bottle Works Ethnic Art Center from 1st March till 24th March 2011.  In the exhibition entitled “Bojage and Me,” she will show her new series of work “Bojagi” and the continued exploration of her auto-figurative “Opus” series. ​  ​ “Bojagi” is a series of abstract paintings influenced by Bojagi, the traditional Korean wrapping cloth, which is square and can be made from a variety of materials sewn together, similar to the Western quilt. Traditionally,  Bojagi were used for transporting items, as well as for covering or keeping things together in storage. Bojagi were  usually made from reused material and made by ordinary women. Each Bojagi shows individual creativity and  often acquires the status of “high” art in modern art. Consequentially, Bojagi are often displayed in museums today.  ​ ​ “When I was young, there were all kinds of Bojagi, of different sizes and colors, which my mom had made around the house. It was her frugal way of living since she had 11 children. I remember when I was an elementary school student,  I used to carry my books in these bojagi that my mom had made from our outgrown traditional cloths and fabric. I would wrap the schoolbooks and carry them slung across my shoulders. I lived in the countryside at that time and many  of us used these bojagi to carry our books.    

A few years later, we moved to the capital of South Korea, Seoul.  My parents then bought me a slick city book bag, so it was end of the bojagi! Now when I think about that, I realize that I didn’t really appreciate my mom’s bojagi at that time. I do remember, however, that I had envied my friends’ brand new and modern bags! My mother has since passed away and I have left my homeland, and by some mysterious twist of fate, I have begun to long for the bojagi bag. This triggered my desire to reexamine the world of Bojagi as a way of rediscovering memories of my mother and my childhood.