South East Asia Topology is the curatorial project organized by Project Fulfill Art Space focusing on the contemporary arts in South East Asia. The following four artists are invited for two exhibitions and correlated academic events in 2014, and they are: Jompet Kuswidananto（Indonesia）, Sutthirat Supaparinya（Thailand）, Dinh Q. Lê（Vietnam）, and Ho Tzu Nyen (Singapore). From the diverse perspectives based on the historical, political, and social issues pertaining to Southeast Asia, these artists have gathered to collectively weave together a topology to prompt for the formation of communal memories.
South East Asia Topology symbolizes the crossing of geo-political boundaries, with emphasis placed on history, the impacts of territorial disputes for the people, and additionally with the topological positions based on the self, rivers, oceans, and memories expanded to concentrate on the identity shifts with Southeast Asian migrant workers as well as a variety of community-based self-initiated social movements. Traces of colonialism, separation, foreign intervention and other incidents and processes have remained in the region, which have helped to shape its cultural memory. The exploration of the diverse contemporary arts flourishing in this area and the juxtaposition and comparison of Southeast Asia and Taiwan are still quite weak and uncommon in Taiwan. Therefore, these contributing artists have gathered to encourage for a greater focus on multiculturalism, biodiversity, diverse economic and ethnic power relations.
The vision is that through South East Asia Topology, an inspection on a changing navigational path and a project of crossing-domains, we could further understand this region that we are geographically close to and exchange frequent interactions with, but somehow seem to be quite spiritually distant from.
Dinh Q. Lê is one of the most well-known Vietnam artists around the world, who has been invited to participate in the 50th Venice Biennial, and had did the solo project in MoMA NY in 2012. His artistic practice interweaves personal histories with Vietnamese national mythologies and collective memory. Often incorporating imagery from a variety of sources, including archival photographs, documentaries, Hollywood films, and Vietnamese visual culture, Lȇ’s investigations raise critical questions about the distribution, reception, and consumption of images and how visual culture may inform a national identity. The two important works: one installation ”The Infrastructure of Nationalism”and one 3D animation ”South China Sea Pishkun”will be shown in the space. Next year, Dinh Q. Lê will have his solo exhibition in the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo.
Jompet Kuswidananto from Indonesia whose first solo show in PF Arts in 2012 had received a huge attention. This time in “Southeast Asia Topology,” Jompet will present his new series focusing on the further reflection on the socio-political situation post -1988, mainly in reference to chaos and commotion, subject matter he has been investigating for some time. He will have a big solo exhibition in The Tropenmuseum Amsterdam in this coming August.
Sutthirat Supaparinya is the only one female artist in this exhibition, who is very active in recent year among Asia art scene. In the two channels video ” My Grandfather’s Route Has Been Forever Blocked,” Supaparinya took a boat ride to follow his grandfather’s working rout on the Pine River from Chin Mai, crossed the Bhumibol Dam built in 1958 to reach the upstream. Journeys along the Ping River as well as a boat trip helped me to understand what my grandfather experienced in the past; at the same time I could observe other issues that have arisen in my time. This work leads me to interest in an impact of electricity generation.
*image (left)
© Dinh Q. Lê
courtesy of the artist and Project Fulfill Art Space
