Haji Oh, Nautical Map, 2017. Plain-woven, warp-faced pick-up patterns, four-selvaged cloth, on linen with lead, dimensions variable. Installation View MATSUO MEGUMI + Voice Gallery, Kyoto, Japan. Photo: Shinya Kigure. Courtesy: the artist and THIS IS NO FANTASY, Melbourne.

Since 2017 Haji Oh has engaged in an extended series of creation and installation work titled Grand-Mother Island Project, in which she traces the trajectories of people who have crossed the Pacific Ocean between Japan, Korea, Nauru, Torres Strait, Australia, and places in-between.

Grand-Mother Island Project: Chapter 1- Nautical Map is the first part of this project. Comprising three textile elements – Textile as Map j.i (Jeju Island, Korea), Textile as Map t.i (Thursday Island, Queensland) and Textile as Map Mt.k (Mount Kiera, NSW), the work traces the trajectories of island and ocean crossings between Japan, Korea, Torres Strait, and Australia. It focuses on the individual narratives that are interwoven with global histories to create new communities.

Oh is a third-generation Zainichi Korean artist born and raised in Japan, migrating to Australia nine years ago, now living and working in Wollongong, NSW. An accomplished international textile and fibre artist, Oh was awarded a PhD in Fine Arts from Kyoto City University of Arts, Japan.

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