- This event has passed.
Faces of Arhats. Photo courtesy Chuncheon National Museum of Korea
THIS EVENT IS NOW FULLY BOOKED. PLEASE DO NOT BUY A TICKET UNLESS YOUR SPOT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED BY CHRIS MANNING.
Five Hundred Arhats of Changnyeongsa Temple is the Powerhouse’s major summer exhibition, a dramatically installed selection of stone statues depicting arhats (Korean nahan), Buddhist figures who have attained enlightenment. Thought to have been carved during the 14th-15th centuries, the figures were only discovered in 2001 at the Changnyeongsa Temple site in South Korea. Each of the kindly figures has a different expression, from joy to sorrow, and many seem immersed in contemplation.
On show are one Buddha and 50 arhats, presented within a sensory and immersive exhibition environment which has been created in collaboration with contemporary Korean artist Kim Seung Young, and which includes a soundscape. Even the bricks on the floor are engraved with phrases that offer visitors peace of mind.
MIN-JUNG KIM is the Curator of Asian Arts & Design at the Powerhouse Museum, and Curator of this exhibition. Min has held this position since 2007, although she worked for the Museum before that. During her years at the Museum, she has been responsible for many collection displays and exhibitions, including the memorable Rapt in colour: Korean textiles and costumes of the Choson Dynasty (1392-1910)(1998), Earth, Spirit, Fire: Korean masterpieces of the Choson Dynasty (2000), and Spirit of Jang-in: Treasures of Korean Metal Craft (2011).
HOW TO BOOK: THIS EVENT IS NOW FULLY BOOKED, PLEASE DO NOT BUY A TICKET IF YOUR SPOT HAS NOT BEEN CONFIRMED BY CHRIS MANNING.
