Installation piece at Iraq library to feature children's art

SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Yonhap) -- A Korean-American artist plans to donate an installation art piece he created with the help of Iraqi children to a library built by South Korean troops in the war-torn country, the project's publicist said Monday.

"Letter to Friends in Iraq," produced by Kang Ik-joong that integrates colorful
drawings by Iraqi children, will be displayed in the Zaytun Library, due to open
on Oct. 22 in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, said the publicist Seo
Kyoung-duk.
The new two-story building was named after Korea's Zaytun unit, which has been
helping rehabilitate the Irbil region since 2004. The troops are scheduled to
pull out of Iraq by the end of this year.
Kang, who sent drawing paper, crayons and pens to children in Irbil, then
collected their drawings and added them to his colorful installation, at the
center of which is a message in Korean meaning friend, hope, love and peace.
"An artist has the power to transform a border into a connector," Kang said ahead
of his trip to Irbil. "Through culture, I believe East can meet West, South can
meet North, the poor can meet the rich and the past can meet the future."
Kang, whose notable works include a two-person show with the legendary
Korean-born American artist Paik Nam-june, and the gigantic installation "Amazed
World" that was displayed in the U.N. building in New York from 2001 to 2002, is
now working on wall drawings for children's hospitals around the world. He
received the Special Merit prize in the Venice Biennale in 1997.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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