Meekyoung Shin
Translation—Toilet Bodhisattva

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Artist Meekyoung ShinKorean, born 1967

CultureKorean

Titles

Translation—Toilet Bodhisattva
from the series Toilet Project

Date2004

MediumSoap

Dimensions33 1/2 × 8 × 5 3/4 in. (85.1 × 20.3 × 14.6 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund

Object number2007.1149.1-.5

Not on view

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Department

Asian Art

Object Type

SCULPTURE

DescriptionIn the Translation—Bodhisattva series, Shin Meekyoung re-created traditional Korean Buddhist sculptures in soap. She then installed them in a public restroom and encouraged people to use the figures to wash their hands. Afterward, she displayed the worn soap bodhisattvas alongside ancient, stone-carved Buddhist sculptures. In doing so, Shin explores the notion that whenever objects or symbols are brought into a new context, their meaning is changed. By transforming traditional Korean Buddhist icons into a transient material like soap and placing them beside their stone counterparts in the gallery, Shin calls into question the notion of cultural and artistic authenticity.

ProvenanceResearch Ongoing
Exhibition History"Secret Beyond the Door," The Korean Pavilion, Venice Biennale,
June 12-November 6, 2005.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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