Dropping a letter into a mailbox is an attempt to enter someone's interior. It is also a way of leaving a part of yourself inside. Though we can never fully enter another person's interior, we continue to send words toward it. That is how the artist describes the work.
Undress House calls itself a maker of "ironic functional objects." Things you can use, but that make you pause before you do. Asked what the studio's name means, Lee answered that "it can mean unveiling, but it also suggests something that hasn't yet fully formed."
There is no right answer, he says. He just hopes people see it in their own way. The stitched seams of "To: Inside" are not simply a design technique. They are the scars we leave when we try to reach each other, the traces of that attempt made visible. Functional but uncomfortable, beautiful but unfamiliar.
What words do you send to reach someone's interior?
FAQ
What is Undress House's 'To: Inside'?
'To: Inside' is a mailbox finished with sutures resembling stitched human skin. Designer Lee Jae-ho of Seoul-based design studio Undress House unveiled this new work in August 2024, an ironic functional object that expresses both the attempt to reach another's interior and the impossibility of doing so.
What is Undress House?
Undress House is a Seoul-based design studio that describes itself as a maker of 'ironic functional objects.' They present items that are usable but make you pause before using them. The studio name carries dual meanings: 'undressing' and 'something not yet fully formed.'
What is the meaning behind 'To: Inside'?
Inserting a letter is both an attempt to enter someone's interior and an act of leaving part of yourself inside. Lee Jae-ho explains that while no one can fully reach another's interior, we continue sending words inward despite this impossibility. The sutures are traces of that attempt, a form given to wounds.
