By Honorary Reporters Magdalena Krisnawati and Jeanne O from Indonesia
Photos=Magdalena Krisnawati and Jeanne O

In celebration of the 2019 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)-Republic of Korea (ROK) Commemorative Summit in Busan from Nov. 25-26, the Korean Embassy in Jakarta is exhibiting contemporary Korean artworks for a year.

Behind the embassy's reception desk is the first work, an oil canvas painting called "Instant Landscape–Goosebumps #7" (2017) by Kim Nam-pyo that features a green forest reminiscent of Indonesia's rainforests. The hallway displays "A Certain Scenery" (2017) by Sul Park and "Ambiguity-Aoki" (2010) by Kwon Ki-beom.

The embassy's multifunction hall features "Contemplation No. 1" (2014), a painting made of Hanji (traditional Korean paper) by Kim Hee-kyung, and a space installation work by Kang Eun-hye. Kang was the only artist whose work is in the exhibition to visit Jakarta to present her creation. She spoke to us on Dec. 13 at the embassy on her work, thoughts and experiences as an installation artist.

Accompanied by her husband, who also an artist, Kang used gaffer tape to create a geometric pattern with Hangeul sentences as seen in the picture. Her work has the Hangeul inscription "Partnership for Peace, Prosperity for People," which was the slogan of the ASEAN-ROK summit.

"My work is rooted in and inspired by the lines of Hangeul. Because I believe Hangeul has geometric and abstract elements, it has strong potential to be a material for design and fine arts," Kang said on what inspired her to create this work.

"I divide spaces along lines and combine images and architectural spaces using the geometric concept of 'line.' So people who see my works will also see that they're art, not just patterns without any meaning."

Kang said she did research before designing the pattern to be installed at the embassy. "After seeing a picture of the space, I selected the Korean sentence, created a geometric pattern of the Korean alphabet and then installed it using gaffer tape," she said.

On her creative process, she said the reason she used black only in her work because she wants people who see it to focus on the geometric pattern.

Putting her installation work in the embassy space took three days, far faster than the ten days normally needed to install one of her works, she said.

"Partnership for Peace, Prosperity for People" will be displayed at the embassy for a year. She said, "I pray for everlasting friendship between Korea and ASEAN."

Embassy secretary Park Hye-yeon said Kang's work was selected for display as a symbol of the longstanding relationship between Korea and ASEAN, and specifically with Indonesia, a leading country in the region.

chaey0726@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.