Bul-ssang

Inspired by the pastiche of Buddha figure replicas with no aura of grandeur available at Buddha Bar in Paris and resultant cultural conflicts, this work paradoxically suggests that the Buddha figures show our true face as we go on living our mundane lives, not a face of God. Its title, Bul-ssang (a Korean word meaning misery) literally connotes both bulsang, a Buddhist statue and the miserable lives of worldly people.
A hybrid of various cultures and dances including Indian Kathak, Korean Jindo Drum Dance, Chinese Eighteen Arhat Skills, and Japanese and Mongolian traditional dances harmonizes with the pop artistic sense of installation artist Jeong-Hwa Choi. Experimenting with extemporaneousness through live music, the work presents a play-like performance on stage. It reveals an old Asian view of the world that, as lotus flowers bloom in mud, holiness can be found in vibrant life itself where complexity and diversity are respected without a hierarchical order, which remains a contemporarily effective principle of life.

Artists

Choreography
Aesoon Ahn

Korea National Contemporary Dance Company