Bottari bundles symbolize amsterdam’s diversity
In the center of Amsterdam, Kimsooja’s immersive installation To Breathe — Mokum transforms the city’s historic Oude Kerk with textiles and ethereal light. The installation speaks to themes of migration, belonging, and the transient nature of home, offering a meditation on identity and cultural exchange.
At the work’s heart are Kimsooja’s iconic bottari — colorful textile bundles inspired by traditional Korean wrapping cloths. Spread across the ancient stone floor of the church, these bundles are filled with clothing donated by members of Amsterdam’s diverse communities. Each piece of clothing represents the lives and stories of the people who contribute to the city’s rich multicultural fabric. These textile bundles serve as symbols of both personal and collective journeys, embodying the arrival and departure of individuals who have shaped the identity of the city over time.
Amsterdam is often described as a city of minorities as it holds within its borders people of more than 170 nationalities. The bottari honor this global mosaic, their vibrant colors a symbol of the city’s role as a crossroads of cultures.
images © Natascha Libbert
kimsooja employs Light as a Choreography of Color
Alongside the symbolic textiles, artist Kimsooja’s manipulation of light is equally integral to the experience of To Breathe — Mokum in Amsterdam. The 44,000 panes of glass in the Oude Kerk are covered with a transparent film designed to fracture sunlight into a spectrum of rainbow hues. The film’s finely woven structure acts as a prism, breaking the light into its component colors and casting them onto the church’s ancient interior. This ever-changing play of color moves across the space throughout the day, highlighting different architectural features — an arch, a gravestone, a pillar — creating a dynamic, shifting perspective.
The light itself becomes a guide, subtly leading the viewer’s gaze through the space. Unlike traditional static lighting, this intervention shifts, creating a living landscape of color that reveals the church anew. In this new context, the church ceases to be merely a monument. It becomes an active, breathing entity, constantly changing with the movement of the sun.
Kimsooja’s installation To Breathe — Mokum transforms Oude Kerk into a space of light and reflection
everchanging light transforms the oude kerk
The radiant light of the Kimsooja installation evokes the Oude Kerk’s Catholic history, where stained-glass windows once bathed the interior in a rich spectrum of colors. Kimsooja’s use of light recalls this tradition while introducing a more universal form of illumination. By employing light as a medium, Kimsooja connects the church with a global network of places where light and color have served as symbols of spirituality, unity, and reflection.
Her work operates within this universal language of light, creating a bridge between diverse cultures and histories. As the light shifts and moves, it reflects the changing nature of the church, breathing life into its architectural form.
traditional Korean textile bundles are filled with clothing from Amsterdam’s diverse communities
Kimsooja’s installation is a reflection of this history, with particular attention paid to the waves of migrants who have settled in Amsterdam over the centuries. The title To Breathe — Mokum itself draws from the Yiddish word ‘mokum,’ which means ‘city’ or ‘safe haven.’ This was the term used by Jewish migrants who found sanctuary in Amsterdam, making the city a home and a place of refuge. Through the installation, Kimsooja connects the church to the broader narrative of migration in Amsterdam, where people from all over the world have sought a safe harbor.
the colorful textile bundles symbolize migration, identity, and the city’s multicultural character
sunlight is broken into rainbow hues by transparent film on the church’s 44,000 glass panes
the installation brings attention to Amsterdam’s 750-year history as a city of migration and sanctuary
the ever-changing light highlights the church’s architectural features
project info:
name: To Breathe — Mokum
artist: Kimsooja | @studiokimsooja
location: Oude Kerk | @OudeKerkamsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
on view: May 23rd — November 9th, 2025
photography: © Natascha Libbert | @nataschalibbert
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