Heesoo Kwon (b. 1990, Seoul, South Korea) is a multidisciplinary artist based in San Francisco. Positioning herself as an artist, activist, archivist, anthropologist, and religious figure, Kwon builds feminist utopias in the digital realm that liberate one from personal, familial, and historical trauma rooted in patriarchy.
Central to her practice and substantial bodies of work is Leymusoom, an autobiographical feminist religion she initiated in 2017 as a form of personal resistance against misogyny and an ever-evolving framework for investigating her family histories. Kwon utilizes technologies such as digital archiving, 3D scanning, and animation as her ritualistic and shamanistic tools to regenerate her woman ancestors’ lives without constraints of time and space, and to queer her past, present, and utopian dreams.
Leymusoom Giftshop is an installation that takes the form of a religious giftshop, on view in Bay Area Now 9 at YBCA (October 6, 2023–May 5, 2024). As an artist’s book, Leymusoom Giftshop includes products from the installation, along with an exclusive set of prayer cards:
1 Leymusoom Universe (overview of Leymusoom’s lineage)
1 Leymusoom Bible written by Kazumi Chin and Heesoo Kwon (origins and development of the Leymusoom religion)
4 Leymusoom School prayer booklets, written by Karen Cheung, Kathryn Cua, Shaelyn Hanes & Katherine Jemima Hamilton, and Zoë Latzer.
10 postcards (from the Premolt series)
6 prayer cards
1 lenticular bookmark (from the Leymusoom Garden series)
October 2023, English, 6 x 6.5 in, set of 6 books, 10 postcards, 6 cards, and 1 lenticular bookmark
Edition of 500
Leymusoom Logo Design: Tuğçe Evirgen Özmen
Design: Sming Sming Books
