I was given an opportunity to realise the visual exhibition Passage to Pusan as a solo curator and artist commissioned by Korean Cultural Centre Australia. The multi-media project includes a documentary film that also shares the same title as the book by Louise Evans.

Through six photo-media installations, the exhibition tells the story of the relationship between a Korean war widow and an Australian mother who lost their loved family member during the Korean War; the story of the special connection between two families crossing cultural boundaries that have grown stronger from generation to generation; and the story of the friendship between two nations of Australia and South Korea during the time of hardship.

My Trip  여행 일지

Thelma Healy’s red travel diary opens the story as the first part of the installation in the same way the diary motivated the author to write her book, Passage to Pusan. The story unfolds chronologically like pages on the book, beginning with Thelma’s diary and ending with her granddaughter’s book. When this enlarged book format work is folded, the pages overlap as multi-layers, connecting the story crossing time and generations. Viewers who never have read the book would be introduced to the story through this work, comprising both archival images and recent photographs taken during the author’s visit to Korea in 2017.

Thank You  감사합니다

340 Australian soldiers died fighting for democracy in Korea during the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. Each soldier’s name is typed one by one with a wholehearted appreciation for their sacrifice. They are engraved gently on the traditional Korean paper, ‘Hanji’, which embraces the names with its warm texture. To mark the beautiful national relations, the Australian national flower, Golden wattle, is arrayed on the top left and the Korean national flower, Hibiscus Syriacus (무궁화), is on the top right.

Relations 인연

There are five ceramic boats in this exhibition : Vince Healy, Thelma Healy, Mrs. Kim Chang Keun, Sandgate & Pusan, and Korea.

Each boat tells the story of the journey of these people and their places. Born in Sandgate Australia, Vince died in Korean War and was buried in Pusan, where the Korean War widow, Mrs Kim Chang Keun, laid flowers on his grave on behalf of his mother, Thelma. The boat symbolises a journey: Thelma’s journey to Pusan began by boarding an ocean liner. Water is the ocean crossing between Australia and Korea. Water is tears shed by the sadness of losing family members and the happiness of gaining friendship. Water is the medium of connecting two layers of past images embedded in the ceramic and floating present-time images on the water. The water in the boat also connects present time, allowing the viewers to reflect on the water.

Relations 인연 has been created with the collaboration of the ceramic artist Somchai Charoen based on the project during the residency in ‘Belmore ITCH’.

Dear  친애하는

There are eight letters : two letters from Vince Healy to his mother Thelma, one from Vince to his siblings, one from Vince to his youngest sister Monica, two letters from Thelma Healy to her children, two letters from Mrs. Kim Chang Keun to Thelma Healy.

The original letters printed on transparent sheets are layered with the old family photographs printed on Hanji to evoke the emphatic sense of the words through the visual images. Reading these emotionally written conversations, love and caring are present. There is no explanation to add when reading every letter’s ending of Vince with the touching greeting to his baby sister, Monica: “P.S. How are you cheeky Monica?”

For Vince  빙스를 위해

Vince Healy was killed in action at Maehwa Mt. South Korea during Operation Woodbine on 7 March 1951 at the age of 24. Since he was buried at the UN Memorial Cemetery in Pusan South Korea, there have been five significant visits to Vince’s grave.

Love & Peace  사랑과 평화

We lay a white chrysanthemum on each grave of an Australian soldier who died while fighting during the Korean War to wish them peace and to console their bereaved families. We appreciate their sacrifice for democracy and peace. The white chrysanthemum symbolises appreciation and sincerity, and Koreans use them as condolence garlands at funerals where they share the sorrow of losing loved and respected ones. Mrs Kim Chang Keun also laid white chrysanthemums on Vince’s grave with love and appreciation.
The Korean peninsula has been divided in two under the 38-parallel line and the armistice agreement since 1953. I hope there will be no more innocent victims under the name of war. I hope the world filled with peace and selfless love.

 

Exhibition : 23 June ~ 1 September 2017, Korean Cultural Centre Sydney Australia