Since 2019, Namhae Dolchanggo has overseen the ‘Namhae Bohosu Project’, which promotes the history and values of Namhae Bohosu (2019) and expands its reach across a range of cultural content. In the first year, Namhae Bohosu (2019), a book was published containing documentation and drawings of 31 Namhae Bohosu trees. In the following year, the exhibition, ‘ Protector of the village : Namhae’s Protected Tree project’ (2020) was held. This year, as the project enters its third year, ‘Protected Trees, Wa: Namhae’s Protected Tree project 2021’ is on show until Dec. 31 at Namhae Dolchanggo. This exhibition seeks to restore spatiality to Bohosu (dangsan tree) as the central space of the village where rest, play, and rituals are combined. To this end, collaborations took place between youth groups (KITOYU, FARMFRA, Namhae Youth Center) and artists (Choi Jeonghwa, Roh Kyung, Sugihara Yuta) – the creative teams in Namhae.
The exhibition takes place in three Bohosu locations (Namhae Dolchanggo, Namhaegak, and Dumo-village) and in the village forest (Angangda Forest). Namhae Dolchanggo has been prepared for a ‘Bohosu Travel Center’ that provides guides, the locations and information about Bohosu as well as pointing to where the works are installed. A guide map, photos of the historic scenery of Bohosu, Sugihara Yuta’s drawing Bohosu Travel, and reviews of people who have traveled to Bohosu are exhibited. On the other side of the exhibition hall, Choi Jeong-hwa’s Revive was installed, which contains the aspirations for community recovery by collecting the jars left by the residents who had to move for the construction of the new town hall building in Namhae-gun. Other works including Choi Jeong-hwa’s Fruit tree installed at Namhaegak – the gateway to the South Sea, Happy together with discarded chairs and home appliances installed under the Dumo-village zelkova tree, and Happy Happy made of trees and fabrics connecting the trees in the Aengda River Forest are also exhibited. It is time to observe with a warm heart how these works, which have been situated in various parts of the South Sea, will affect the local community.
Image courtesy of Namhae Dolchanggo