Temple project promises journey of self-exploration

Haeinsa Temple is hosting “Haein Art Project 2013 MAUM” from Sept. 27 to Nov. 10 as a part of the 2013 Tripitaka Koreana Festival, an event that introduces the 800-year-old example of cultural heritage of the Goryeo.

A total of 30 teams of artists, including artists from India, Hong Kong, Spain, Italy, and the United States, are participating in the project.

The artists’ pieces will be displayed in and around Haeinsa Temple in Hapcheon-gun, South Gyeongsang Province. Artwork will also be exhibited around Haeinsa Sorigil, an outdoor trail that spans 6 kilometers at the base of Gayasan Mountain, and Tongdosa Museum, a facility dedicated to Buddhist artifacts originating from the prehistoric to the modern era. 

At a press conference held at Shilla Hotel on Sept. 4, Haeinsa Art Project organizers revealed the theme of the exhibition and briefly explained the works of the artists and the stories behind them.

“Tripitaka Koreana’s core can be expressed simply with the word ‘maum,’ or heart and mind, and it is also true for Buddha’s teachings as well,” Haeinsa Art Project’s secretary-general Ven. Hyang-rok said, adding, “Haeinsa Art Project 2011 commemorated the 1,000 years of Tripitaka Koreana’s history, and now Haein Art Project 2013 will take place to look forward into the future.”

Haein Art Project 2013 will focus on how artists portray their thoughts and feelings toward the abstract subject of the heart and mind.

Visitors will be able to see a mixture of the traditional concept of self-exploration and self-realization within nature depicted by modern art.

The point of the exhibition is for viewers to be able to freely think about what artists are portraying through their pieces, and also find some meaning of their own.

Korean artist Yoon Suk-nam’s piece “With or Without Person” consists of multiple sculptures of different dogs inspired by the story of a woman who takes care of 1,025 stray dogs.

Hong Kong artist Leung Mee-ping’s “Memorize the Future” is a unique display of 2,000 children’s shoes made from the hair of Buddhist monks in Hong Kong. Leung collected the hair herself and used a special type of glue to form the shoes. American artist Indira Johnson’s “The Resonance of Emptiness” shows 10 terracotta bowls that visitors will be able to fill and empty with stones, leaves and other flora as they please.

“We wanted to allow people to view pieces, but also look around at nature. They may be able to find meaning in a specific artwork, but they also might be able to find meaning in the simplicity of a rock or a tree,” said Haein Art Project senior curator Kim Ji-hyun.

For more information on the exhibition, visit www.haeinart.org or call 1688-3094.

By Cha Yo-rim (yorimcha@heraldcorp.com)