Talent Talks: Woo Jin Joo

During the 2024 Salone del Mobile Milano, Nieuwe Instituut presented the New Store 2.0. The project imagines a store where shopping helps the environment instead of harming it. In this second iteration of the experimental pop-up shop, Nieuwe Instituut is testing alternative forms of exchange.

New Order of Fashion consulted Nieuwe Instituut on regenerative fashion designers to include in the project. NOOF 2021 talent Woo Jin Joo was selected and traveled to Milan to co-create with the visitors of the Store. We check in with her upon her return from Milan.

*New Store 2.0, Displays by Jeroen Wand and OS_Studio*

Could you please introduce yourself?

I am a mixed media artist working predominantly with embroidery and textiles. My practice explores East Asian mythology, folk culture, shamanism, and beliefs, and how these intangible heritages shape my worldview and imagination as it collides and merges with the physical experience.

My world is populated by non-human beings, mythical creatures, demi-gods, and patchworks of symbols and iconography that re-narrates the world around without human-kind at the center stage of the story.

As Haraway wrote, I believe ‘it matters what stories are used to tell stories.’ My practice is a search for alternative stories of seeing the world, arising from my experiences, imagination, and cultural upbringing, where objects become spirited beings and small critters are the heroes of the story.

You were asked to develop work in relation to the theme of regeneration. How did you approach this topic?

For this project working in collaboration with Het Nieuwe Instituut and Human Material Loop, we were looking at the theme of regeneration with human hair as our material focus. Whilst Human Material Loop transforms human hair into these amazing threads and yarns, I was asked to approach human hair and regeneration through a more artistic lens.

I decided to look at the theme of regeneration and human hair through storytelling, which is my own passion and strength. I saw regeneration as part of an interconnected system, where humans and our bodily parts, like all other materials, are part of an ecosystem constantly under transformation. I wanted to carry forward to the audience this sense of human hair belonging to our ecology and nature, where it comes from and will be returned to eventually. I wanted to convey a sense of re-wilding, re-enchanting human hair in my exploration of regeneration. With my speciality in embroidery and textiles art, I decided to create a large-scale quilted artwork with echoes of landscapes, where human hair is embroidered and embedded back into with public participation.

The public participation and collective aspect of creating this artwork was very important. Whilst the first half - the base quilt - was made by me prior to the launch at Salone Del Mobile, it was the audience participation and conversations that completed the work. I wanted to create a space for dialogue around hair as people directly engage with other’s hair and contribute to the artwork.

Could you tell us about your creative process and material approach?

The project begun from research into cultural contexts and social meanings around hair. My fascinations grew in working with human hair as I continued this research, seeing the possibilities of hair as a material that could really connect with people at an emotional level.

I quickly fell in love with the potential of hair as an artistic medium, and how hair could have contradictory signals and meanings depending on how it is engaged. Human hair, still on the body is considered an extension of us, valued and looked after, but loses this immediately as it touches the floor. Hair in certain cultures and contexts is extremely private and personal, and in others could be social or political. Cutting your own hair in public could be an act of protest, and having your hair cut without your consent could be a form of punishment. Hair as cultural code is so endowed with meaning, and I wanted this collective artwork and experience to be a happening where these meanings are shared and explored together with the audience.

The creative process was led by this desire for expanded conversation around hair to happen, and the artwork naturally arose to fullfil this.

What were the most interesting results, the most important takeaways?

The most interesting result was seeing the varied response to the workshop. I experienced a lot of visitors who were uncomfortable to touch other people’s hair, and it was very interesting to reflect upon how we are so comfortable with animal hairs but not our own as a material choice. One visitor commented that she found it surprising and unable to explain why she herself felt unease to touch the hairs, whilst she still appreciated the project. On the other hand, there were visitors who immediately connected with working with human hair, quickly finding interest and joy in shaping and handling hair as a material.

The public participation aspect was an important learning for me, seeing the power of hair in generating emotions and responses. I think there is so much to unpack, and especially an important takeaway to consider when we are searching for regenerative materials. It takes time for people to build familiarity with a material, and in this case a material that is so close yet so far from us. It would be interesting to see how we could start bridging the gap between the abundance of hair as material and the lack of familiarity.

*Human hair samples, display by Jeroen Wand and OS_Studio*

Can you imagine developing the project further? And if so, how?

I can definitely see myself developing this project further. As an artist interested in storytelling, this project showed the possibility of hair’s natural ability to attract and repel, bringing out immediate responses from the audience. Hair is also a common and reoccurring element in mythologies and folk culture, which is another area of my interest. I think there is lots of interesting conversations that could happen from working with hair around the themes of ecology, re-wilding, mythology, land, and heritage, and I want to see how hair could be incorporated to my own work as I unpack this experience further.

How do you envision the future of fashion and your role therein?

I think the future of fashion would increasingly be a hybrid of physical and digital, in its materiality, process, expression, and communication. I do also believe that storytelling will become more important as the discussions around slowness and mindfulness increases in fashion. Every object we engage, own, borrow will become more meaningful as we search for ways to build a lasting and caring relationship with the material world. As a maker I would be honoured to be part of this collective storytelling.

*New Store 2.0, Displays by Jeroen Wand and OS_Studio and Falsework*

The New Store 2.0 pop-up edition is a collaboration with Temporiuso (founded by Isabella Inti and Giulia Cantaluppi) and made possible by regenerative partner New Order of Fashion. The New Store is a multi-year research project in collaboration with the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR) and the research consultancy The Seeking State.

Participants and partners include: Alberto Fucci, Human Material Loop, Woo Jin Joo, OS Studio, Falsework and Cengiz Mengüç.

All images by Cristiano Corte.