Korean Travel Online - Deoksugung Project Exhibit

From September 19 to December 2, 2012, the Deoksugung Project will be on display at the palace grounds of Deoksugung.

Deoksugung Project has commissioned contemporary Korean artists to create works that are to be installed throughout the Deoksugung palace ground. Among the participants are artists from various fields including visual art, music, dance and design. While being challenged by the historical significance of Deoksugung, participating artists imbue it with their own imaginations and interpretations.

I arrived just in time for the guard changing ceremony at the gate.

Roaming around the palace grounds, I saw a beautiful carpet of fiery red leaves, perfect for a picture.

 

On the way to the National Museum of Contemporary Art, there is a cluster of trees with bright golden leaves

And I passed by this cute little girl feeding the birds.

First up is the installment titled 'Jari'.
The floor is inundated with floor chairs on whose chrome-coated surfaces are 'mirrored' the adornments of the walls and the ceiling. The combination of the LED lighting of the interior and the natural light coming in from outside intensify and amplify the irregularity of the reflection effect generated on the floor.

Jari

The next one I had a hard time finding as it is not exactly at the place that was shown on the map. Went to the lady by the 'Jari' and asked about it and she pointed me to the red tree.

Crystal vs. Decision

The artists scatter around and pile up crystal blocks. Every 'crystal(結晶)' in the world requires a long period of quiet and careful process to be 'decided(決定)' as a perfect form at a certain moment. Yet when the very instant moment passes, it is subject to destruction and disappearance so as to move towards yet another order. Under the universal condition which does not tell the eventual outcome, things continue to move. A crystal is both eye-blindingly brilliant and lethargically vain.

Audiorama-Novels of Royal Ladies

  The artist selected some highlights from the royal classic novels of the Joseon dynasty, which were kept at Nakseonjae in Changdeokgung, and has them delivered through the voice of a professional announcer. Those classical phrases of somewhat, in the artist's words, "hilarious style" are projected through the "non-everyday voice tone" of the announcer. Despite their vulgarity and didactic plots, which can also be found in currant television dramas, the subtle and detailed descriptions and metaphoric expressions are of high literature. As one listens to those paragraphs, he or she can peek into the daily lives of the royal and noble families of the Joseon dynasty.

Tear Drop

The artist places her 'dazzling' sculpture of a tear drop in this simple and unrefined place that seems to have become a symbol of the tragic destiny of Deoksugung. As the sculptural condensation of a single teardrop is refracted by its own thousands of LED light bulbs, one cannot obtain a clear view of it. The paradox inherent in this sculptural piece that it is brilliantly lit but is not easily recognizable represents the fates of countless women including Queen Inmok led their lives as human beings here inside the walls of the palace. Here emerges an intangible world that prevents itself from being easily described or comprehended.

Better Days

The rooms are crowded with the furniture items and craftworks, which were used by women in old time, and selected all from the artist's collection. Those objects and a video work shown here seem to seek to reinstate the short happy days of Princess Deokhye while evoking faded memories and nostalgia. 

Inwardly, Determine Yourself/ A Rest without Notice

 This space is of multiple layers of memories that traverse different time and origins, and the artist adds another layer of 'contemporaneity' to the space: a polygonal mirror fragment is inserted between the existing items of furniture in the interior of Jeonggwanheon 

Daystar

In the middle of this small grove where exuberant trees afford shades, the artists install their Daystar series. Sun beams come through the chink in the window or trees to meet objects while creating shadows. The movements of the things result in the delicate separation between light and shade. A long glance at this trivial event delivers unexpected moments of wonder and beauty.

On my way out, I passed by the pond. I've been here before but I never noticed the pond. It's beautiful with the fallen leaves floating in the water.

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