Where Art Meets Life

Sulwhasoo reminds us that beauty can be found in the most unlikely of places, says Nicolette Wong

- Nicolette Wong

IMAGINE THIS: IT IS a bright sunny day, a gentle breeze is rustling through the leaves, and you are walking through a lightly forested area. As you turn a corner, you spot a strange sight. A bush of vibrant gnarled wires blocks your progress, each metal thread intimately entwined with its brethren to form a sparse web, standing as high as you are tall. The earth under the wires is disturbed, as though something has been uprooted from its depths. Then, you notice that the wires are attached to a felled metal lamp post, whose elongated body rests just beyond their colourful tangle. In a space surrounded by strategically placed trees and well-trodden paths, this is a strange sight indeed. This, the guide tells you, is Mirage, the art piece created by Korean artist Kim Myeongbeom.