Lee So-ra South Korean, b. 1967

Korean textile artist Lee So-ra uses ‘Jogakbo’ (a traditional style of Korean patchwork made using pieces of salvaged fabrics) to create contemporary works of art. Having studied German Literature at university, Lee developed a love for the early modernist movement. This influence is echoed in her work, where she uses fine hand stitching to large-scale compositions of line and plane.

Lee uses Oksa, a natural silk known for its raw, translucent properties and natural, botanical ingredients including home-grown herbs to dye the silk, resulting in a soft and natural palette. After repeated dying and drying, Lee cuts the silk into small pieces and uses rice starch to stiffen and strengthen the material, each piece is hemmed twice before being sewn together. Working without a planned arrangement or sketch, the artist arranges the patches spontaneously stitching them with immaculate ‘gekki’ a traditional Korean stitch that can only truly be appreciated under close examination.