TEHRAN – An installation of a huge bean, inspired by a Korean love story and created by Iranian land artist Mahmud Maktabi, has enchanted visitors at the Wongol Nature Art House in Gongju, South Korea.
Based on a traditional love story, South Koreans believe any individual who falls in love turns blind, and the bean is the symbol of this story, Maktabi told the Persian service of ILNA on Saturday.
The visitors can enter the 3x5 meter bean with closed eyes and touch the walls and find things about love, he said, adding that the installation was very meaningful for the Korean visitors.
Entitled “A Story about Love”, the month-long exhibit opened on Friday with a performance about the story of Shirin and Farhad.
Shirin and Farhad is a love story written by Vahshi Bafqi, a Persian poet of the Safavid era, who was inspired by “Khosrow-o-Shirin” written by Nezami Ganjavi (c. 1141-1209 CE)
“This exhibit helps develop cultural relations between the countries, and we need to try to introduce our culture to other countries,” he said.
Maktabi along with a number of international artists and critics were invited to the Global Nomadic Art Project initiated by the Korean Nature Art Association, YATOO in April.
Maktabi created a collection of artworks including installations, paintings and photos during his month-long stay in South Korea.
RM/YAW
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