About the Artist

Do Ho Suh (born 1962) is a South Korean artist who has lived in London since 2010. Before he moved to England, he lived and worked all over the world. He explores the idea of home through drawings, installations, sculpture, and video. Suh’s work often features architecture or everyday items found in a house. His inspiration stems from how time away from home can affect memories, changing what home looked like and how it felt to be there. After having experienced numerous places, he wants to better understand how people relate to important locations in their lives.

About the Artwork

A colorful house seems to float in midair. It looks like a detailed drawing made by an architect. Two figures—one upside down—hover outside, connected to the building by wavy lines. Find a single line and try following it with your eyes. It may surprise you to learn this work is made of embroidery thread that was carefully arranged and embedded into the paper.  

The artist Do Ho Suh created this artwork based on memories of his childhood home in Seoul, South Korea. After he lived in different places around the world, he wondered about the idea of “home.” What does it mean? Where is home, and can you have more than one?    

Slow Looking

Take a quiet minute to look closely at this work of art.

• What do you notice first?
• Look at the colors, textures, and materials. What do they remind you of?
• What kind of building do you think this is? Which details help you guess?
• What is unusual or surprising about the way this work is made?
• What feelings or memories come to mind when you look at this artwork?

Exploring Place and Belonging

Suh often creates art about places where he has lived. He uses traditional Korean weaving techniques to recreate parts of homes and buildings that hold personal significance for him. Seoul Home – Inverted is based on his childhood home in South Korea.

• Why do you think the artist chose to recreate his home with embroidery thread instead of brick or wood?
• Have you ever had to leave a place that was important to you? What did you take with you? What did you leave behind?
• What makes a place feel like home? Can a feeling of home travel with you, even when a location changes?

Extending the Story

Suh made this artwork to remember and honor his childhood home. Doing so helped him carry part of his past into new spaces. Now it’s your turn to consider what home means to you.  

• Think about a place that is or was important to you. It might be a bedroom, a porch, a classroom, a grandparent’s house, or somewhere outdoors.  
• What makes this place special? Which colors, objects, sounds, or smells do you remember?
• Create a drawing, sculpture, or collage of this place. You can show it as it really looks, or you can imagine it in a new way.
• You can flip it, float it, use different colors, or show how it makes you feel instead of how it actually looks.