2024 Fall K-Royal Culture Festival

Moonlight Lotus Show at Changgyeonggung Palace

Light of Harmony upon the waters of Changgyeonggung Palace

Night falls, Changgyeonggung Palace shimmers as

a wordless dialogue with the Palace unfolds along the water’s edge,

in the twilit hours all that the eye sees are flickering forms in this Palace where we leave behind time and space to commune with the light of harmony in full bloom.

October 9th to October 13th, 2024

19:00-21:00

[Conceptual Intent]

“Like clear water, the radiant light illuminates the 600-year history of Changgyeonggung Palace, symbolizing the coexistence of past and present as a beacon of communication”

Water channels all, embraces all, and light reflecting off and refracting through it illumines all. To all of us living in the modern world, “Moonlight Lotus Show” sends this message through light installations upon water flowing in the Palace.

Scenic Experience I “A Waterway for Dialogue” (Entrance)

The pine tree that bore witness to the history of the Palace glows in communion with light in a space designed around the Chinese logogram for conversation “話” which serves as a unifying visual motif. For a moment visitors leave the current era behind to enter into a profound, silent dialogue with the Palace in its time.

Scenic Experience II “Moonlight Lotus Show” (Large Chundangji Pond)

The logogram “華” — blossoming — is the visual motif giving meaning to the light ripples upon Chundangji Pond as a harmonization of both the visible and invisible beauty of Changgyeonggung Palace. The triumphs and tragedies of the Palace are given form as threads of light weaving through the water’s surface into a flower of harmony and peaceful coexistence that will blossom as petals of waterdrops and light in the heart of modern man.

Scenic Experience III “Silver-white Light (Baeksongnamu)

The logogram “畵” that means “to color” serves as the central motif of “Silver-white Light” that compares the silvery white bark of Baeksongnamu — the living witness to Changgyeonggung Palace history — to the old age of the palace. As chromatic light colors the tree’s white bark, we are taken back in time to when the Palace was in its glory.

Scenic Experience IV “Light of Harmony” (Daeonsil)

Extracting the design motif from the logogram “華”, meaning “to emit light”, this light installation transforms the Daeonsil (Great Glass Greenhouse) into a treasure chest floating above an illuminated water surface. The Daeonsil being both a symbol of modern architectural advances in the Joseon era and the tragedy of cultural destruction through Imperialism effectively conveys the principles of harmony and transmutation as embodied by Changgyeonggung Palace in this iteration as an instrument of light bringing together Korea’s traditional and early modern experiences.

Scenic Experience V “Water’s Breath” (Small Chundangji Pond)

The logogram that describes loveliness, “嬅”, provides the visual motif here. Almost hidden amongst the thick foliage of Changgyeonggung Palace, the calm surface of the Small Chundangji Pond echoes the delicate musical notes and light from this installation to make palpable the bittersweet memories and emotions etched into every surface in the Palace.

Scenic Experience VI “Light of Harmonious Community and Peace” (Stroll Path)

Forces of transmutation engage our senses as we stroll down the light-strewn path inspired by the logogram for harmonious unity and peace, “訸”. It speaks to us, living in today’s world, of transmuting past time, the present moment, and the laughter, tears, and strife to come as we walk with the Light of Harmonious Community and Peace.

Scenic Experience VII “Lightful Waters of Virtuous Influence”(Exit)

The seventh installation represents the lightful waters of rebirth. Through the logogram “和” meaning harmonious unity, the Palace and its message of unity and rebirth are brought forth. Light unfurls along a specially installed waterway of light, and as the emblematic patterns of Changgyeonggung Palace emerge we begin to feel the irresistible energy of rebirth.

Scenic Experience VIII “The Eternal Palace” (Exit)

Taking as the central motif the logogram “化” used here to mean “to become light”, the installation work is designed to more deeply engrave this nocturnal dialogue with the Palace and refresh the splendor and harmony of the grounds in the minds of the visitors before they go back to the real world. Words to remember the Palace by float upon the scarlet Lightful Waters of Virtuous Influence, forsming a rich and intricate language. Savoring this language of light with which the Palace spoke to us, and gazing inward at the Light of Harmony the Palace has slipped into our hearts, we now return to the real world.