SEMI,SU, mixed media (synthetic fiber, website, inkjet print), 2025
You can explore SEMI,SU works on on the site below
Lookbook
The scrubbing cloth’s yarn is vibrant, shiny, and rough in texture. This project highlights those contrasting qualities by combining the scrubbing cloth — originally practical — with high fashion. Haute couture, known for its artisanal, limited, and impractical nature, mirrors this transformation. In "SEMI, SU," only seven garments were crafted by a skilled artisan — the artist’s grandmother. Each piece is intentionally uncomfortable: heavy, excessively long, or tightly fitted, restricting movement.
The shimmering beauty and rough texture embody duality, blending extreme practicality with excessive ornamentation. This project subverts the scrubbing cloth’s original function. A tool meant for dishwashing is reborn as decorative, couture-like clothing through an artisan’s touch, echoing haute couture’s impracticality and exclusivity.
The garments visually express the burden and discomfort of domestic labor. The brand name "SEMI, SU" personifies the scrubbing cloth, symbolizing a human trapped under the weight of household chores, brainwashed by the idea of labor as duty. These garments are available for purchase through an online store.
The artist’s grandmother, who frequently crocheted scrubbing cloths with widely available Korean yarn, distributed them among female family members, including the artist. The project reflects on how women’s labor often fuels more labor — and how the scrubbing cloth, despite its use in cleaning dirty dishes, remains excessively beautiful.
Photoshoot
