From May 1st, 2025, London‘s Tate Modern will be transformed into a labyrinth of memory, a testament to the evocative power of space, as Do Ho Suh unveils his first major solo exhibition in the city in over two decades. “The Genesis Exhibition: Do Ho Suh: Walk the House” promises to be a deeply immersive experience, a journey through the artist’s profound exploration of home, identity, and the intangible realms of human experience.
Suh, a master of translucent fabric installations, invites us to reconsider the very nature of architecture. More than just brick and mortar, he presents buildings as vessels of personal history, spaces imbued with the echoes of lived lives. Taking its name from the Korean concept of hanok houses—structures designed for disassembly and reconstruction—”Walk the House” encapsulates Suh’s lifelong fascination with the fluidity of dwelling.
Entering the exhibition, visitors will find themselves enveloped by “Nest/s 2024,” a sprawling network of ethereal corridors. This site-specific installation, like much of Suh’s work, blurs the lines between public and private, inviting us to wander through a dreamscape of domesticity. “Perfect Home: London, Horsham, New York, Berlin, Providence, Seoul 2024” further dismantles the notion of a fixed abode, presenting imprints of doorknobs, switches, and other intimate details from Suh’s past residences, creating a poignant dialogue between disparate locales and moments in time.
But Suh’s practice extends far beyond fabric. His “Rubbing/Loving” series, exemplified by “Company Housing of Gwangju Theater 2012” and “Seoul Home 2013-22,” captures the physical residue of lived spaces through meticulously executed paper and graphite rubbings. Intricate thread drawings and delicate paper dissolutions, such as “Staircase 2016,” highlight his fascination with materiality and the inherent fragility of memory.
In a move that underscores the evolving nature of his practice, Suh also ventures into the digital realm. Works like “Robin Hood Gardens 2018” and “Dong In Apartments 2022” employ photogrammetry to create digital reconstructions of buildings, transforming them into dynamic archives of human presence. The exhibition culminates in the “Bridge Project,” an ongoing exploration of the “perfect home” that grapples with its sociopolitical and ecological dimensions, pushing the boundaries of what “home” can mean in an increasingly interconnected world.
“The space I’m interested in is not only a physical one but an intangible, metaphorical, and psychological one,” Suh explains. “For me, ‘space’ is that which encompasses everything.” This holistic view of space is masterfully translated into an exhibition co-curated by Nabila Abdel Nabi and Dina Akhmadeeva, promising a profound and deeply personal encounter with Suh’s oeuvre.
“Walk the House” is also a testament to the power of collaboration, marking the European expansion of Genesis Art Initiatives. Supported by the vehicle brand Genesis, this exhibition underscores the company’s commitment to fostering cultural legacy, a commitment echoed by Euisun Chung, executive chair of Hyundai Motor Group, who emphasizes the exhibition’s ability to “reaffirm timeless values that transcend both spatial and temporal boundaries.”
In a world increasingly defined by displacement and the search for belonging, Do Ho Suh’s “Walk the House” offers a timely and deeply moving reflection on the enduring power of memory and the ever-evolving concept of home. It’s an invitation to walk through the corridors of our own experiences, to consider the spaces that shape us, and to find poetry in the everyday details of our lives.