Two prominent venues in Seoul are exploring the profound themes of birth and motherhood through contrasting artistic approaches. The National Folk Museum of Korea and the European gallery White Cube are both presenting exhibitions that examine how childbirth and parenting reshape families, daily life, and emotional experiences across different cultures and time periods.
At the National Folk Museum of Korea, visitors are greeted by the sound of a baby's first cry as they enter the "Happy Birthday" exhibition. The entrance features a carefully recreated scene from the Joseon era (1392-1910), complete with protective straw rope hanging from the ceiling and traditional birthing materials laid on the floor, including a straw birthing mat and instruments used for cutting the umbilical cord.
The museum's exhibition takes a comprehensive cultural approach, tracing moments surrounding newborns through narratives from Korea, Japan, China, and Europe spanning several centuries. "We focused on the communal roles and environments surrounding childbirth across different cultures," explained Jang Sang-hoon, director general of the National Folk Museum of Korea, speaking on Tuesday. "I felt it was a topic the Folk Museum needed to address. A museum connects one generation to the next, and the declining number of children ultimately shakes the foundation of the museum itself."
The exhibition demonstrates how women have sought childbirth information across different historical periods. The display includes late Joseon-era manuals containing childbirth-related superstitions and taboos, early 1900s letters where mothers provided advice to their daughters, government-issued booklets from the 1950s, and modern-day blogs and group chat rooms.
Meanwhile, at White Cube gallery, French artist Julie Curtiss presents a more contemporary perspective in her first solo exhibition titled "Maid in Feathers." The show explores the experiences of working women raising children and examines how the burden of child-rearing continues to fall largely on women in today's society.
One of the exhibition's key pieces, "Woman with a Whisk," depicts a woman cooking with a whisk in one hand while her nursing bra remains open. According to the artist, this painting highlights the stark contrast between a woman's identity before and after becoming a mother. Curtiss's works deliberately resist idealized portrayals of motherhood, instead revealing its complexities and contradictions by tracing the blurred boundaries between care and eroticism, as well as play and anxiety.
The artist drew from personal experience in creating these works, recalling that during her first month after giving birth, she focused on making small works on paper because they were easier to handle given her limited time. She noted that life as a new mother blurs the boundaries between day and night, a reality reflected in her artistic output.
Curtiss's exhibition features 20 new paintings and will remain on display through January 10, 2026. Both exhibitions offer unique perspectives on the universal experience of birth and motherhood, bridging traditional cultural practices with contemporary artistic expression.
