Kitchen (remembering Lee, Hwaja)
Kitchen (remembering Lee, Hwaja)
Found kitchen furniture from an abandoned house
114 (H) x 102 (W) x 16 (D) inches / 290 (H) x 259 (W) x 40.5 (D) cm
This work was installed and exhibited in an abandoned house in a neighborhood where the entire area was soon to be demolished and redeveloped. A woman named Lee, Hwaja had lived in the house and used the kitchen for over 20 years. I disassembled the kitchen furniture without cutting it and reassembled the components differently to make it resemble my room furniture. Working only with the components in Hwaja Lee's space, I created my room with my personal belongings. This site-specific installation brings to the fore the complex aspects of gentrification and people’s effort to maintain the memory attached to the neighborhood.
Original kitchen when visited before insallation
Progress shot
Progress shot
Progress shot
Installation view
Detail
Detail