Bojagi
The Art Of Korean Textiles
Youngmin Lee
Herbert Press
I had to look for a definition to learn what this book was going to be about, it is a technique which had been out of my sight. The cover made me think of patchwork, so I wrongly taken its content to be about this subject. This book is totally a cultural love nest celebrating the true context of Korean textiles.
Bojagi is really about the care, the cover, the nurturing natures. It is a ‘Wrapping Cloth’ by whatever look or image you might place on this definition.
The main glimmer I gathered in from this book, was its ability to develop projects that yes, are very much from the place but not too of the place not to attract an international audience. I personally love finding out about how others live and connect with art via their own upbringing and location. This book brings together that element too, explaining what this method is really about.
This is no fancy fabrication, it is the “every day”, what these artists really use in their lives. It is often a technique used as a “must” not as something we in this country of the UK might view as a Saturday afternoon bit of fun, “crafting” as it were. No, the Korean culture often requires items which are hand made and have a function. So many of the projects in this book are certainly centring on that.
Learn how to make bags, napkins, coasters….useful pieces often bound in the warmth of a home - maybe if you learn to make them yourself you will find a higher level of appreciation for them?
My personal favourite was the Lotus Leaf Placemat (Page 72).
We learn about the author’s real life, right at the end of the book, where she discusses her own work, with examples and small paragraphs briefly explaining each one.