Portrait 21: Sungrea Kim's Soccer Sculptures
We are delighted to present five sculptures by South Korean artist Sungrea Kim from her “Hope for Laila” series in our online exclusive exhibition "In the beginning, there was Football" on Artsy.
In the beginning, there was Football
Women’s World Cup Exhibition | Online Exclusive Show via Artsy.net
Now through September 20, 2023
Sungrea Kim has devoted her art practice to exploring the solidarity of minorities who resist violence and hate. In her formative drama titled "Girl, About Lost Time," she narrates the story through an imaginary girl named Laila, who exists in an intermediate state between childhood and adulthood. Through collective sculptures, drawings, and sculptures, Kim sensitively portrays the lost values of our time and touches on the stories of women living as minorities for political, religious, social, or historical reasons. Her drama is divided into three episodes, exploring peace without violence, the liberation of Afghan women, and a declaration of women as confident subjects from the beginning of time.
Furthermore, by experimenting with new materials like waste polystyrene and paper-match paste, Kim breaks away from conventional sculptural “masculine” norms that are heavy and hard, and instead seeks light, mild, and strong materials. By doing so, Kim creates a unique fusion of sculpture and drawing—an invention she calls “drawing sculpture”—that allows her narratives to unfold with non-monumental, feminine, and relatable expressions, bridging the gap between her work and the viewer.
Sungrea Kim explains the “Hope for Laila” series below:
I have been working on the topic of solidarity of minorities against hate and violence for a long time. In my most recent exhibition with a fictional girl named Laila as the narrator. I dealt with the stories of all women in the world who have no choice but to live as minorities for political, religious, social and historical reasons [. . .] In this exhibition there will be featured Islamic girl Laila in her burka, who was the protagonist in my former solo exhibition. Through my art, I am asking not to use sports as weapons or violence by giving them political or religious or historical significance. I tried to convey the message of complete peace that sports have, and my artistic language is simple and clear. Whatever we wear to play soccer and wherever we to play it, we are just happy. Ultimately, I believe that women are on the cusp of social change, that their very existence is progressive, and that their solidarity is the basis for maintaining a peaceful society. Now it’s time to let go of all our prejudices it’s. It’s time to have fun.
In the beginning, there was Football
Our exhibition title refers to South Korean artist Sungrea Kim’s Tree of Knowledge sculpture—wherein, the forbidden fruit is replaced by the forbidden football, and Adam and Eve are replaced by two happy magna-like figures. Here, the artist overturns John Milton’s Paradise Lost narrative that is maintained in history, and breaks away from the original shame imposed on women. Eve ponders:
And render me more equal, and perhaps
A thing not undesirable, sometime
Superior: for inferior who is free?
— John Milton, Paradise Lost (Book IX)
For Sungrea Kim, women voluntarily walk out of the Garden of Eden towards liberation—unparadised and yet free to play the beloved sport in peace. Alternatively, this sculpture can be an homage to the countless times women’s sports have needed a reintroduction into society and one final hard genesis to move forward in the game without setbacks. Moreover, Kim’s other “drawing-sculptures” are made as a response to the men’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar, feature an Islamic girl Laila in her burka inspired by Khaled Hosseini’s novel A Thousand Splendid Suns. Kim’s four Laila-inspired sculptures return to the love of the sport—regardless of what people wear and where it’s played—people are happy just to play.