Exhibition poster ©SeMA

This exhibition presents works from the Seoul Museum of Art’s collection that reflect various contexts surrounding the act of forgetting and the things that fade as a result. Held at Nam-Seoul Museum of Art during the winter season, the exhibition is titled 《Ode to Forgetting》, a reference to Louise Bourgeois’s work Ode à l’oubli, one of the pieces on view. An “ode” is a lyrical poem praising a particular person or object, frequently used by Romantic poets. Thus, rather than simply conveying a desire to erase memories, this “ode to forgetting” can be understood as a narrative dedicated to the very notion of forgetting.


Installation view ©SeMA

The eponymous work, Ode à l’oubli(2004), is a fabric book created by Louise Bourgeois from pieces of clothing she wore throughout her life, from the time of her marriage to her later years. Carefully cut and sewn, the garments form a poetic object in which joyful and painful memories alike are transformed into a new creative dimension. Bourgeois’s gesture of dismantling and reassembling memory embraces a wide range of approaches to how we engage with personal experience.

Accordingly, the exhibition explores themes such as the process of forgetting, the sudden recollection of memories once thought lost, actions taken to break free from obsessive memories, expressions of imagined realities that feel more vivid than physical ones, and reinterpretations of past journeys. Through works by Yayoi Kusama, Louise Bourgeois, Kim Whanki, Yoo Youngkuk, Kim Bongtae, Yoo Geun-Taek, Noh Chung-Hyun, Park Junbum, Sora Kim, Ji Seokcheol, Joo Taeseok, Kim Dongkyu, and Oh Inhwan, the exhibition offers diverse perspectives on forgetting and recollection.


Installation view ©SeMA

In Greek mythology, Lethe—the deity and river of forgetfulness—washes away the memories of the dead and serves as a bridge to another dimension. Forgetting is thus not merely about erasure; it leads to stories of submerged truths and regeneration.

The exhibition also includes works by artists such as Mioon, Song Sanghee, Sejin Kim, Hong Soonmyung, Moon Youngmin, Lee Hyoyun, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Seo Yongsun, Kim Beom, Kim Inbai, Sarah Morris, Kim Yongkwan, Joo Jaehwan, Jonathan Borofsky, and Peter Halley. These works reflect micro-perspectives on daily life often overshadowed by grand societal narratives, the truths that may lie more clearly in our backs than our fronts, skeptical reinterpretations of so-called universal truths, and depictions of urban anonymity veiled within simplified abstract grids. Together, they prompt reflection on the unseen, the overlooked, and the supposedly absolute.

Ultimately, this exhibition is an opportunity to experience key works from the SeMA collection in Nam-Seoul Museum of Art. We hope that during this season—marking the year’s end and a new beginning—viewers will find space within these artworks to reflect on their own intimate memories and engage with the exhibition in a more personal, accessible way.

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