(LEAD) Seoul exhibition brings 6 decades of American artist Lynn Hershman Leeson

A new public art exhibition titled "Afterimages of Peace" is set to open at a former Cold War military bunker in northern Seoul. The exhibition will be held in a nearby garden, inviting visitors to contemplate how remnants of division and conflict can evolve into spaces of peace and ecological rejuvenation. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that the show will be on display from Saturday until December 13, 2023, at Seoul Iris Garden in Dobong District, a park situated in the northeastern part of the capital city.

This exhibition marks the inaugural segment of a broader public art initiative that will connect the garden with a nearby facility known as the Peace Culture Bunker. The bunker, originally constructed around 1970, served as an anti-tank defense installation situated along a path that North Korean tanks traversed to invade Seoul during the Korean War, which lasted from 1950 to 1953. Following its initial deployment, the bunker was repurposed as a cultural venue in 2017.

The exhibition at Seoul Iris Garden features six artistic creations by two teams of emerging artists, in addition to four student projects submitted by the students of Seoul National University, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Hanyang University, and Hongik University. These works delve into the intricate connections between forests and nature, as well as the interplay between humans and the environment.