by Patricia Frischer
Berlin-based artist Mirae kh RHEE was born in Seoul and raised in the United States and lives now in Berlin. But it is the traditional Korean traditions that seem to permeate this exhibition Constellations at the Museum of Photographic Arts now MOPA@ SDMA in Balboa Park. But bamboo with modern lighting and simple stitched items using photographed subjects brings us firming into the 21th century.
Without the title Seven Sisters (Missing Merope
Version) and the explanation that this refers to the Pleiades, we would not be able to research and learn
that these seven are within the constellation of Taurus. It's one of
the closest and brightest star clusters to Earth, located about 444 light-years
away. There are 1000 stars in this constellation but the 7 brightest (the
seven sisters) can be seen with the naked eye. The myth refers to Greek
mythology, the seven daughters of the Titan Atlas and the sea nymph Pleione.
Merope is missing sister because she is the faintest star and some say that is
because she turned her face away in shame having married a mortal. RHEE used
that to signify longing, maybe for her absent family. There are more than 7
light filled bamboo pillow shapes, but there is one on its own near the
entrance of the exhibition. And we all know that stars have been used forever to
find you way.
The room is infused with color as the hanging woven objects
change in hue, casting a hued glow on all the objects in the display. The
jeweled shoes that must certainly reference the ruby slippers in the Wizard of
Oz sit on a mirror that reflect the entire scene as you stroll around. I made
sure not to click my heels together until I was ready to find home.
The Beauty of Stitching Sorrow (The Last Threads of the Colonial Empire) is the title of a series of work made from Korean mourning cloth made with hemp, photographs and a whole range of mixed medium objects. Some are shiny and as you pass by, their color changes as well. In the artist’s own words, “…stitching becomes a way for me to survive sorrow, to name loss, and to reclaim beauty…"
On view until January 4, 2026
Across from the Lily Pond
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