Through Time and Space

This year’s Sulwha Cultural Exhibition by Sulwhasoo connected and interpreted the past, present, tradition and modernity in Korean culture through a timeless tale of two lovers

ifty years ago, Sulwhasoo was born out of founder Suh Sung-hwan’s hard work to create cosmetic products from a truly Korean ingredient—ginseng. Then, 10 years ago, that same spirit of promoting the beauty of Korean culture brought forth a harmonious, crossgenerational platform bridging modernity and tradition: the Sulwha Cultural Exhibition.

The roots of the exhibition date back to 2003 in which Sulwhasoo’s Sulwha Culture Club gathered 40 personalities from the cultural and art scenes, although the current exhibition took form starting from 2006. With beauty at its core, themes chosen throughout the years have always revolved around Korean culture’s many aspects, such as sujak handiwork and onggi, Korean earthenware. In the past two years, the focuses have been traditional folklore—last year was about the story of crepe myrtle—as a way to reinterpret values in contemporary contexts and genres.

“Once Upon a Time: The Two Love Stars, the Altair and Vega” was the theme for this year’s month-long exhibition that ran from October 13 to November 13. Eleven installations by young Korean artists were scattered and weaved throughout Sulwhasoo’s flagship store and nearby Dosan Park in the Sinsa neighborhood in the middle of Gangnam District.

Vega—or Jiknyeo in Korea, Zhinu in China and Orihime in Japan—is a skilled weaver-girl and daughter of the heavenly king. Altair— called Gyeonwu in Korea, Niulang in China and Hikoboshi in Japan—is young cowherd living across the Milky Way. They fell in love and married each other, but afterwards they abandoned their duties. Thus, the angered king separated the lovers and only allowed them to see each other from across the Milky Way on the seventh day of the seventh month. Feeling pity, crows and magpies worked together to form a bridge across the silvery river to help the lovers reunite.

Motifs of love, promise, reunion and departure in the story have been depicted

and reinterpreted in designs, installations, architecture, media and sound through the use of time and space. Yeojoo Park’s Magic Hour on the Milky Way is an example that uses modern technology with LED lights to paint the Milky Way above and along the stairs outside Sulwhasoo’s store. Visitors can climb the stairs at night to best experience this symbol of reunification.

Meanwhile, the Shadow Bridge installation by architects Seung Teak Lee and Mi Jung Lim from stpmj architecture firm, located in the park, shows the flight of the crows and magpies as the interplay between light and shadow goes through the bird-patterned, beehive-like wooden structure. Going to see the artwork precisely at 3:30pm shows visitors a shadow-bridge connecting this standing structure to a similar second piece behind it in the form of a bench.

The master artisans of Korea’s Intangible Cultural Properties have also played a major role in each Sulwha Cultural Exhibition; now it is all about the natural hand-dyeing traditions called yeomsaek. At the centre is the special indigo blue colour that used to be reserved only for royals or in weddings. Jung Gwan- Chae, a “Living National Treasure”, is the only one carrying on the mantle for this after a period of long discontinuation. His materials were also included in some of the installations, plus as handkerchiefs, notebooks and pouches for sale with proceeds going to Korea’s Cultural Heritage Administration.

See each artist’s installation and profile, plus the history of Sulwha Cultural Exhibition at www.sulwhaculture2016.com/en.