This exhibition aims to bring awareness of the cultural heritage and traditions that are being forgotten. The distinctive beauty that resides in Korea's traditional house, the Hanok, and traditional bowl, the Maksabal are the main objects used to create this exhibition.

A House is a space where people spend most of their time to relax and rest which indicates close relation with people's lives. However, most residents would not question how their house was made, what kind of materials were used for construction, or how the house relates to its surroundings. These may not be attractive questions; however, a hanok is a reminder of the value of the house and the relationship between nature and a dwelling place. For example, hanoks, which traditionally were made mainly out of soil, wood, stone, and paper, had regional characteristics due to their local construction, local materials, as as well as the intimacy that came from surrounding nature.

The shape of the art objects in this installation derives from Korea's traditional bowl 'mak-sa-bal', which has now been largely forgotten by people in South Korea. I found that the simple beauty that resides in this bowl matches the beauty of Korean traditional hanoks. The inherent beauty of these things comes from both their organic nature and the harmonious relation with surrounding elements.

Exhibition opens: Saturday June 8th 4pm, and then
                          Monday, June 10th to Thursday June 13th 2pm - 5pm.

Location: 31-79 Gahoe-dong, Jongro-gu, Seoul
               (7 Bukchon-ro 11ra-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul)

On the opening day, there will be a special collaborative art program featuring a variety of artists: dance; Indian music; and installation/performance art. This will involve:

Contemporary choreographers include Poe-Geun Kim and Yong-Hun Lee;

AnnA Cybele, a composer who plays the Sarangi, a traditional Indian instrument.

Da-Eun (Clara) Euam, an installation artist and sculptor focusing on the intersection of traditional and contemporary art.

The main purpose of the exhibition and accompanying events is to bring an awareness of the value of traditional arts, which have been forgotten and abandoned.

Although the Hanok is an integral part of the history of South Korea and reflects our ancestor's way of life, their social and political histories, today it is no longer part of Korean life .

Holding this event in 31-79 Gahoe-dong, a traditional hanok, enables us to use contemporary art to understand, remember, and experience traditional arts. We hope this helps in taking new steps towards preserving traditional culture in the context of the modern world.

31-79 Gahoe-dong, was built in 1929, on land formerly owned by the Royal Family. It was built at a time when the Yangban who had once lived in the area were moving away and ordinary people were coming to live in the district for the first time.

This hanok was bought by David & Jade Kilburn in 1988 and is now almost the only remaining original hanok in Gahoe-dong. This event is supported by www.kahoidong.com and hosted by David & Jade Kilburn.

Da-Eun Clara Euam is one of three recipients of a Mortimer Hays Traveling Fellowship from Brandeis University. Through the fellowship, she has been traveling to Korea's traditional Hanok villages and researching issues related to the traditional arts and culture in South Korea. She is now creating art work that deals with tradition and culture, incorporating her research on Hanok and studies in contemporary art.

Press Contact: Clara Euam 010-4182-07344 ddaeun7786@hotmail.com