No Place Like Home

A group exhibition
@ARKO Art Center, Seoul, KR

21.11.24 – 01.12.24

Exhibition view of Social Fabric in No Place Like Home
Folding bed frame, fabric, polyester filling, nylon straps, paracord, buckles, carabiners, acrylic glass, split rings, thread

Social Fabric
Folding bed frame, fabric, polyester filling, nylon straps, paracord, buckles, carabiners, acrylic glass, split rings, thread

No Place Like Home was a group show, hosted by the Arts Council Korea, which included works by a selection of international artists who had previously participated in Korean residency programs. For this exhibition, Emmy Skensved presented a new piece, commissioned by the Arts Council Korea, entitled Social Fabric. Her installation consisted of two sleeping bags, constructed from translucent rip-stop nylon and embroidered with text. Skensved handcrafted the bags through a laborious process that involved tinting 2kg of polyester filling with synthetic dye so that the orange colour of the work emanates from within.

The intricate, hand embroidery that adorns the bags reads "each one decentered" and "their thoughts interwoven." It was derived from a passage found in Nick Crossley's book Intersubjectivity: The Fabric of Social Becoming. Skensved chose to work with this text since metaphors referring to textiles (like "tight-knit group" or "inextricably bound") are often used to describe communities, and because the term "interwoven" highlights her use of fabric to investigate the theme of intersubjectivity.

Made possible with the generous support of the Arts Council Korea