Hanna Shim’s work draws from the small thoughts, emotions, and everyday moments that often linger beneath the surface. Using textiles, she transform these internal experiences into soft, tactile forms that give physical presence to feelings that are difficult to articulate. I am interested in how softness can hold contradiction—comfort and discomfort, playfulness and vulnerability, care and self-criticism. Presented within MOTHER, What you've been making? invites reflection on the quiet work of caring for ourselves, considering tenderness and forgiveness as ongoing practices that shape how we relate to ourselves and to others.
Hanna Shim (b. 1990, Seoul, South Korea) is an Auckland-based artist whose practice explores the materiality and aesthetics of “softness” through textiles, sculpture, and installation. Drawing from her personal experiences—particularly her journey as a Korean immigrant in Aotearoa—she creates poetic, tactile works that reflect on themes of identity, marginality, femininity, and the complexities of modern life.