Lily Kemp: Cry me a River

Duarte Sequeira is pleased to present Cry me a River, the first solo exhibition by Lily Kemp in Seoul, opening on Friday, November 11, 2022.

Inspired by the myths and writing surrounding mermaids in different cultures, Lily Kemp explores the various depictions of these water figures. Looking at the Chinese tales of Jiao Ren in Sou Shen Ji, they are said to be outstanding craftswomen, good at weaving dragon silk/yarn into thin light silk that remains tough and can enter the water without getting wet.

And when they cry, they cry tears of pearls.

Cry me a River presents a new series of seven paintings by Lily Kemp focused on mermaid cries as depicted in Sou Shen Ji, a collection of legends of ghosts, immortals and spirits written by Gan Bao, as well as drawing reference from other texts. These tears-turned-into-pearls are highly prized, rarely traded away, often made into gifts for close friends and family, or even gifted to humans who have offered them help.