I bought a vintage coat at a second-hand shop a few months ago. Through the remaining traces, I could catch a glimpse of the previous owner’s life, whether it was an article of clothing that the previous owner wore for quite some time. Traces such as a 1994 parking ticket in the coat pocket, a laundry label that would have been recorded when sent for dry cleaning, and evidence of sewing different-shaped buttons instead of the original buttons… Through the slightly curved centerline of the back lining, I secretly guessed the owner’s body shape. I could easily imagine how he or she wore the coat by observing that the first and second buttonholes were abnormally stretched. Moreover, while the entrance of the left pocket was still sewn with thread, the lining of the right pocket was torn, as if it was about to come off. It seemed that the previous owner stubbornly used only the right pocket. It is quite enjoyable to look at the history of the coat’s wear piled up in one old garment and to peek into the owner’s life. Clothes easily reflect the real world more than any other physical form of aesthetics, and function as a very private record of one’s life.

I took the coat out and wore it quite often throughout the winter. I mended the worn lining of the right pocket by hand sewing, and I also opened the left pocket, which may have been closed for 30 years. With the appearance of a new owner, another layer of traces began to be engraved on the coat. Recently, because the chocolate in the pocket melted without its wrapper, I decided to replace the pocket entirely. However, it is not easy to remove the already firmly fixed pocket and replace it. I searched the internet for “How to replace a pocket in a coat” and found some materials that helped with the repair. In the end, I made a pocket that was a little unfamiliar but quite satisfying.

While searching for materials, I came across an interesting essay that interpreted the meaning behind the use of pockets by European women in the 17th century based on historical context. In this essay, I confirmed the potential of pockets as a potential subject for my work. This discovery led me to a deeper research on the history of pocket usage, and during the process, I discovered a very interesting book, “The Pocket: A Hidden History of Women’s Lives” (Barbara, Ariane, 2019), which describes the historical facts about the production and usage of pockets, such as the functions of pockets in and outside of the home and the ways in which women made their own pockets at home.

https://yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300253740/the-pocket/

According to the book, tie-on pockets, detachable pockets worn around the waist by European women from the 17th to the 20th century, had a meaning beyond that of a “portable-small-spaces”. As the author of the book says, “pockets provided women with a means to situate themselves and anchor their identity in relation to loved ones, family and community.” Pockets were a secret and private space that always adhered to the wearer’s body and served as a means of expressing social status or individuality through family crests or various embroidery decorations engraved on the exterior. The series of practical creative acts, such as choosing fabric and directly sewing it and embroidering decorations or personal marks on the exterior, became a means for female makers in households to express themselves freely and become liberated.

On the website of the V&A Gallery in the UK, a considerable amount of tie-on pockets archives can be viewed. Although the forms are not significantly different from each other, each pocket is personalized through the type of fabric used, sewing techniques, mending methods, and especially the owner’s personal marks embroidered on them, which feel like identification cards. Moreover, several stains that were clearly unintended catch the eye; for example, the ink spilled on a white pocket looks vivid, as if the owner might appear any moment to grab the pocket. SEHIKYO pays attention to the emotional attachment to pockets as an object that encompasses the craftsmanship of the production process within households and the history of wearing them. Making pockets, which may appear to be static household labour, is, in fact, a very dynamic and proactive (sometimes even confrontational) performance. I hope everyone finds their own vivid rhythm and melody from creating and carrying pockets!

Seohee Kim (SEHIKYO)

SEHIKYO’s second presentation introduces the 15-minute performance project «Hand in my pocket»(2023). In a series of research processes from repairs, Sehikyo pays attention to the craftsmanship of the 17th-century European “pocket” being handmade at home and its attributes as an object of emotional attachment that contains the history of wearing. The 15-minute performance «Hand in my pocket»(2023) combines Sehikyo’s practice with the exploration of the properties of pockets through “pocket making” made up of the act of hand sewing.

You can find the video of the performance here.