Sook-Kyung Lee's Top Ten, Including Zadie Xa The Best of 2023
BY SOOK-KYUNG LEE
Sook-Kyung Lee is the director of the Whitworth, the University of Manchester, UK; the artistic director of the 14th Gwangju Biennale; and the curator of the Japan Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale, opening in April 2024.
ZADIE XA (WHITECHAPEL GALLERY, LONDON; CURATED BY TARINI MALIK AND INÊS COSTA)
Drawing on her personal and cultural background, Xa’s work traces diasporic identities, folklore, and global movements of people and their memories. Titled “House Gods, Animal Guides and Five Ways 2 Forgiveness,” Xa’s exhibition presented a new body of work inspired by Korean mythologies and storytelling. Set in and around a “house” resembling a small traditional Korean hanok but made of fabric, her installation consisted of paintings, sculptures, and textiles. Within these works, humans mingle with animals, monsters, and ghosts in ancient forests, suggesting a hybrid, matriarchal world.
