For the durational performance titled A Laundry Woman- Yamuna River, India (2000) Kimsooja was inspired by a spot on the river near where cremations take place. Flowers and debris from the ceremonies were floating on the surface of the water creating images and reflections. She decided to stand facing the river for as long as her body could withstand it. She describes her experience as being "completly confused...is it the river that is moving? or myself?" (217)
Her work explores movement, the impermanence of all things, and blurs the lines between art and life, self and other. Historically artists such as Allen Ginsberg, Tehching Hsieh, and Ann Carlson have also navigated the thin line between art and life, challenging self and others to step back and see it all as the work. Her work also relates to Marina Abromovich's exploration of the temporality of things placing focus on the mind, rather than the body in performance.
Kimsooja's practice provokes contemplation and with a buddist alignment to compassion can jolt us out of our habitual way of seeing.Her work explores movement, the impermanence of all things, and blurs the lines between art and life, self and other. Historically artists such as Allen Ginsberg, Tehching Hsieh, and Ann Carlson have also navigated the thin line between art and life, challenging self and others to step back and see it all as the work. Her work also relates to Marina Abromovich's exploration of the temporality of things placing focus on the mind, rather than the body in performance.
www.kimsooja.com/
Works Cited
Kimsooja. Buddha Mind in Contemporary Art. Ed Jaquelyn Bass and Mary Jane Jacob. University of California Press, Ltd. London, England, 2004.
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