Bottari: Alfa Beach, 2001

Born in Taegu, South Korea in 1957.

The psychological impact of uprooting is one of the themes addressed by Kim Sooja. Exposing herself to experiences she deems essential to the creation of her works, the artist travels continually, and her titles often include the word bottari, a Korean term for the knotted bundle inside which everyday items are transported.

While in Africa, on a Nigerian beach whose name is tied to the slave trade, she shot Bottari: Alfa Beach, 2001. In this work, the inversion between the position of the sky and that of the sea suggests the loss of the most basic coordinates, evoking the drama of those who, abducted from their own world, have been forced to face voyages toward totally unknown destinations. MB