A building of memories and ghosts

Do Ho Suh staircase cr Judy DarleyBristol City Museum and Art Gallery is currently host to a curiously diaphanous exhibit. Created by South Korean installation artist Do Ho Suh, it replicates the corridor of an apartment he once lived in, in New York, and is remarkably detailed, from delicately stitched light switches to ventilation grills and pipes.

Do Ho Suh stitched lightswitch cr Judy Darley

 

The enticing staircase marked out in crimson is too delicate to climb, which means the city views from its rooftop can never be seen.

Do Ho Suh New York Apartment Bristol staircase cr Judy Darley

Do Ho Suh New York Apartment Bristol staircase cr Judy Darley

As people enter the corridor, the sheer fabric transforms them into ghosts of themselves – like a slow, thoughtful parade of Ho Suh’s remembered guests.

Do Ho Suh fairy daughter in the installation cr Judy Darley

It’s playful (as the artist’s fairy daughter demonstrates so well), contemplative and transportative – the most cerebral aspects of a Wendy house conjured into a work of art.

New York Apartment/Bristol will be on show at Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery until 27 September 2015.