Ben Apfelbaum

THE 500 ARHATS OF CHANGNYEONGSA TEMPLE

Min-Jung Kim, Exhibition Curator
Min-Jung Kim, Exhibition Curator

The Powerhouse Museum is the first institution outside Korea to host this exhibition and it coincides with and celebrates the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Australia. When it was staged in the National Museum Of Korea in 2019 it became Korea’s most popular exhibition that year.

The curator of the exhibition Min-Jung-Kim remarked that it was a miracle that the Arhats were discovered in 2001/2002. A farmer found that his chronically ill wife felt much better when in proximity of a hill on his farm. The farmer was determined to pay tribute to the healing powers of the hill and climbed it to plant a marker of thankfulness. In digging this marker, which was in the vicinity of the ruins of the Changnyeongsa temple he found the stone figured arhats.

In fact 50 arhats are on display symbolising the 500 followers of Buddha, a tiny sculpture of Buddha is also included in the exhibition. The arhats are very small figures all with crudely different ‘facial’ expressions, which despite their simplicity are able to evoke powerful emotive responses. A moody soundtrack combined with the subtly lit figures create an immersive and meditative atmosphere. It is believed they were built during the Goryeo dynasty (918-1392) and destroyed in mid Joseon dynasty (1392-1879).

The stone statues depict arhats which means one who has attained enlightenment. The arhats represent 500 disciples of the Buddha who gathered to compile his words into scriptures after the Buddhe entered Nirvana. However they defer entering Nirvana and remain in their human state in order to teach and save sentient beings.

The immersive environment was designed by Korean artist Kim Seung Young. A major work of more than a 1,000 audio speakers surrounded by an urban soundscape by Sound Designer Oh Yoon Seok present the arhats meditating in an attitude of intimate, reclusive poise amidst a cacophony that evokes the distracting bustle of urban life.

Curator Min-Jung-Kim added that unlike the traditional images of the Buddha the arhats resemble ordinary people yet their childlike simplicity and spiritual aura touch our hearts.

This exhibition presents the beauty created by unknown Korean craftsmen in the distant past together with innovative Korean artists.

The Director of Sydney’s Korean Cultural Centre, Jihee Kim, was also on hand to stress the importance and significance and cultural uniqueness of this exhibition as well as being a balm for troubled and stressed minds.

This exhibition runs at the Powerhouse till the 15th May 2022.

Article and photos by Ben Apfelbaum

Published by Ben Apfelbaum

My photography began when my father handed me the proverbial brownie box camera as a child. As cameras developed I went through Fujica and Olympus range finders graduating to my first single lens reflex camera, the Minolta SRT101, the latter being the greatest facilitator to my growth as a photographer. Digital photography has only added to this. I was a regular contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera ) for over three years. During Australia’s Bicentennial year (1988) I made it a personal project to document the celebrations. This culminated in the creation of a book of my photos which was published in 1989. The book was called CELEBRATING AUSTRALIA and came with an accompanying calendar. My works have appeared in a number of publications including the coffee book entitled MY AUSTRALIA (1989), publisher Robertsbridge Severn. This book had a preface by the then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. I was a co-photographer on a book entitled SYDNEY- DISCOVER THE CITY with text written by Robert Treborland. Major Mitchell Press was the publisher. Also for two years I was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney’s multicultural communities. The two calendars were entitled MULTICULTURAL SYDNEY. My work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney’s Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. I have over one hundred photos stored in the New South Wales State Library archive. I had a solo exhibition held in 2007 entitled Ben’s Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum which celebrated the vibrancy of the Sydney Jewish community. Some of these photos are on the Museum’s permanent display. I have exhibited internationally firstly at the Spruill Gallery in Atlanta Georgia, united states, and in an exhibition entitled Kosher and Co at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Currently I am a regular contributor to J-Wire and this esteemed publication.