Awakening Achim Pond: Local Legends and Contemporary Art Connect Past and Present
Creatrip Team
2 months ago
A 10th-anniversary exhibition by the artists’ collective San-gwa-Hamkke, “Awakening Achim Pond Today,” runs through the 11th at the Lee Sang-won Museum in Chuncheon. Thirteen Gangwon-based artists reinterpret the local legend of Achim Pond (a legendary pond in Sinbuk-eup) rather than simply recreating it. The exhibition explores themes of desire, regret, and moral lessons—embodied in the tale of a stingy noble, a mendicant monk, and a daughter-in-law turned to stone for looking back during a flood—and asks why communities preserve such stories across generations. Works draw on field research and regional history, connecting the folklore to traces of the ancient Maek (맥) polity nearby. Pieces range from submerged tile-roofed houses beneath lotus leaves to figures poised above dark reservoir steps, evoking recovery, remembered emotions, and reflection on choices. Some artists borrow traditional motifs (such as “Jigokdo,” a traditional depiction of hell) and homage older local masters to question modern greed, coexistence, and the continuity of regional artistic practice.
