Victoria Sung: Lee ShinJa is recognized today as one of the foremost artists in Korea, who forged new pathways for the expressive possibilities of fiber. Using materials and techniques that were widely dismissed as forms of feminine domestic labor, Lee broke with tradition to create bold sculptural works that defined craft as art. Her resulting works weave, wind, braid, coil, and literally, as she once said, draw with thread. And it is through her visionary practice that the Korean art world was first introduced to tapestry as a contemporary art form.

Lee ShinJa: This work is part of the MMCA (National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art) collection.

Lee Danji: Is this the maquette of this one?

Lee ShinJa: Yes

Lee Danji: Looks like something changed in the process.

Lee ShinJa: Here, we see more felt slits I wove this to see how it comes along. Depending on how you install it, the expression changes. It goes from top to bottom like this. You fold this in half, and there, you see it.

Lee Danji: You are Class of ’50, meaning you entered the university in 1950, right?

Lee ShinJa: Yes. Seoul National University Class of 1950. When the Korean war broke out. This must be at the Deoksugung Palace. That’s Jang Woonsang.

Lee Danji: Did you attend classes with him?

Lee ShinJa: No. our years barely overlapped.

Sang Gon Jang: My mother was born in 1930 in a small town on Korea’s east coast called Uljin. She studied Applied Arts at Seoul National University, and later earned a master’s degree in textile design from Hongik University. She began working with fiber around mid-1950’s, at a time when the scars of the Korean War were still running deep. Her family took refuge in the interim capital, Busan during the war. She would go to Gukje Market to buy second hand clothes and fabrics, often unravelling them to use in her work. She also used yarns originally made for bedding -plying them in vivid colors and twisting them into new strands. Her materials of the time came from everyday objects and they were far from conventional: Fishing line, burlap sacks, mosquito nets, foil, even old magazines.

Lee Danji: These works won awards at the National Exhibition of Korea.

Lee ShinJa: Yes, let me see…There’s the moon. and cranes. The cranes … going around the sun or moon.

Lee Danji: But back then, others didn’t make abstract, geometrical embroidery like this.

Lee ShinJa: It was just me. They only made traditional patternss. At the time, it was common to get embroidery designs from others and stitch it with silk threads. That didn’t interest me, so instead I made whatever struck me at the time. No one had shown me the way, so I became my own compass. There weren’t even right fabrics that I could work with—because no one needed them. Whatever I found and made became my materials. And along the way, new works would just unveil themselves.”

이신자: 지 멋대로 한거니까,발가락으로 한거냐 그랬어. 곱지않고, 여러가지 기법으로, 있는 형태가 아니고 만들어서, 지 멋대로 만들었다고…대한민국 자수 다 망쳤다고

이단지: 너무 속상하셨겠어요?

이신자: 속상할 것도 없어. 누구 하는 사람이 없었으니까

장운산: 작가는 작가일 뿐

Victoria Sung: The 1970s in Korea were marked by rapid industrialization and economic change. The modernization of design brought about innovations in materials, and Lee incorporated cutting-edge synthetic fibers into her artworks alongside more natural materials like wool, hemp, cotton, and silk.

Lee ShinJa: The 1970s in Korea were marked by rapid industrialization and economic change. The modernization of design brought about innovations in materials, and Lee incorporated cutting-edge synthetic fibers into her artworks alongside more natural materials like wool, hemp, cotton, and silk. Weaving together these different fibers in high relief, she began to transform her tapestries into soft sculptures that could be seen in the round. Beginning with her visit to the 1970 Osaka World Expo in Japan, Lee went on to attend the 1983 Internation Tapestry Biennial in Lausanne, Switzerland, among other international exhibitions. Through these travels, she became deeply Inspired by the evolving field of contemporary fiber art, from seeing the works of contemporaries. like Magdalena Abakanowicz and Sheila Hicks to the fashion designs of Issey Miyake, she was particularly interested in the expansion of fiber into sculptural and installation-based practices.

이신자: 봄에 해가 뜨는 게 그렇게 아름다웠어. 바다가 좀 걸어가면 한 오리 걸어가면 바다가 보이는데 해가 뜨는 게 보였거든. 그때 아름다웠으니까, 아, 예쁘다… 그래서 기록에 남겼는데 해가 넘어가면서 이렇게 아름다운 능선을 만들었다, 이렇게 해서 해본거지.

Victoria Sung: Beginning with her visit to the 1970 Osaka World Expo in Japan, Lee went on to attend the 1983 Internation Tapestry Biennial in Lausanne, Switzerland, among other international exhibitions. Through these travels, she became deeply Inspired by the evolving field of contemporary fiber art, from seeing the works of contemporaries like Magdalena Abakanowicz and Sheila Hicks to the fashion designs of Issey Miyake, she was particularly interested in the expansion of fiber into sculptural and installation-based practices. From the late 1980’s’ onward, she devoted herself fully to tapestry, expanding the scale of her weavings to, at times, massive proportions.

Victoria Sung: The Han River, Life Vein of Seoul, is Lee’s magnum opus, measuring 19 meters in length. Using the Han River, Seoul’s lifeline, and the surrounding mountain ranges as key motifs, she poured her energy day and night into finishing the work over a period of three years. Woven entirely by hand, using shades of black and gray, the tapestry is reminiscent of the history of Korean ink wash landscapes.

장운산: 이 작품을 진행하실 때 어머니께서는 서울 정도 600년을 기념하는 기념비적인 작품을 남기고 싶어 하셨어요. 밤낮 없이 작업에 몰두하셨고 한 번은 사다리 위에서 떨어져 머리를 크게 다치셔서 한 달간 입원하셨는데도 바로 작업실에 달려가서 작업을 이어갔죠.

Sang Gon Jang: When she worked on The Han River, Life Vein of Seoul, She said she wanted it to be a monumental work. Commemorating the 600th anniversary of Seoul as the capital. She worked tirelessly, day and night. I remember once she fell from a ladder and suffered a serious head injury. Even after a month in the hospital, She went straight back to her studio to continue working. Her dedication was remarkable.

이신자: 천은 서양화가의 캔버스가 되는 거죠. 그렇지만 제가 지금 하고 있는 작업은 천이 아니거든요. 실이 걸리거든요. 그게 캔버스가 되죠. 그리고 실은 유화의 물감이나 마찬가지죠. 실을 섞어가면서 그걸 만들어 나가니까. 그러니까 저는 짠다 스티치를 한다 이럴 때는 언제든지 그림을 실로 그린다 이 생각을 하기 때문에 자유롭게 할 수 있었어요.

Lee ShinJa: Fabric is my canvas, the way a canvas is to a painter. But my work isn’t just fabric itself. By laying thread across the loom, I create my own canvas. The threads become my paint — just as paint does for a painter. When I weave or stitch with threads that I plied, I think of it as drawing with thread. That’s what allows me to work the way I do — freely.