August Round-Up
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Korea, Lindenhall Arts Center, A+ Works of Art, etc.
By Andari Suherlan and Vivyan Yeo
Eisa Jocson,’ The Filipino Super-KTV-Woman’, 2019, live performance. Photo courtesy of the artist and Rockbund Art Museum.
Looking for Another Family
‘Looking for Another Family’ serves as a space for solicitude, presenting artists who interrogate the communal aspects of humanity beyond their own identities. The exhibition involves 15 artists and groups from eight Asian countries, including Eisa Jocson, Yee-I-Lann, RESBAK, 98B COLLABoratory and Jatiwangi Art Factory. Welcoming audience participation, the show begins with artworks that illuminate the restrictions and repercussions of living in a strictly binary social system. The works in the following section then address the idea of “another family”, proposing compassion as a guide to solving these problems. With activities such as a music video screening, a roundtable discussion and various workshops, this physical exhibition promotes the strength of social understanding in Asia.
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Korea 22 May to 23 August 2020
Wu Chi Tsung, ‘Wire V’, 2018, metal, glass and motor, dimensions variable. Photo courtesy of Post Vidai Collection.
password 0~1
Held in MoT+++’s new location in District 2 at Ho Chi Minh City, ‘password 0~1’ celebrates new beginnings by featuring recent works from the MoT+++ artist collective and beyond, including pieces by Aliansyah Caniago, Nguyen Quoc Dung, Le Phi Long, Ly Hoang Ly and Nguyen Kim Duy. The show marks the soft opening of a new studio jointly established by Taiwanese artist Wu Chi-Tsung and MoT+++ Co-Founder Cam Xanh. As part of Wu’s global exploratory vision, the studio acts as a space for engagement within the spirited and rapidly developing art world in Vietnam.
MoT+++ 9 June to 6 September 2020
Iwan Effendi, ‘The Visitor #12’, 2019, rattan, wood, plywood, cloth, papier-mâché, aluminium, 90 x 24 x 18cm. Image courtesy of Sapar Contemporary.v
Jumping the Shadow
A New York City debut for contemporary artists Iwan Effendi and Mulyana, ‘Jumping the Shadow’ manifests as an effervescent and other-worldly universe inspired by wayang, the Indonesian shadow puppet tradition. The two Bandung-trained artists pay homage to the art of storytelling with their eccentric characters, forming dynamic populations much like our own. While Effendi’s mixed-media drawings and large puppets convey deep psychological states with corporeal expressions, Mulyana’s knitted avatars, created by several groups of artisans with repurposed yarn, generate an underwater sphere signalling the value of environmental protection.
Sapar Contemporary 8 July to 21 August 2020
Rajinder Singh, part of photograph series ‘Turn around and glare at someone different then you’, unframed photographs, 21 x 30 x 10cm. Image courtesy of the artist.
un-migrant-ing
Prompted from Irish sightings of a rarely-encountered North American bird, the Purple Martin, in both the 19th century and 2019, this solo exhibition untangles the exclusionary modes of nationalism. Based in Dublin, Malaysian artist Rajinder Singh connects the idea of migrants in nature to political issues surrounding the existence of national borders. His ethereal images point to the invasion of the resource-abundant land of Ireland by a non-native species commonly seen as aggressive and dangerous. Accompanied by the textual description of the Purple Martin sighting, ‘un-migrant-ing’ foregrounds generally rejective attitudes towards immigration.
Linenhall Arts Centre 24 July to 26 September 2020
Rodel Tapaya, ‘Lost in the Woods’, 2020, acrylic on canvas, 152.4 x 22cm. Image courtesy of the artist and Yavuz Gallery.
Closer Than They Appear
In celebration of Yavuz Gallery’s 10-year anniversary, this two-part feature first takes place in Sydney followed by its counterpoint in Singapore later in the year. It showcases 13 artists from the Asia-Pacific region, including Southeast Asian names Marina Cruz, Yeo Kaa, Ruben Pang, Pinaree Sanpitak, Manit Swriwanichpoom and Rodel Tapaya. This survey invites the audience to pause and contemplate the past while glancing at the future ahead. Presenting artists that espouse a multiplicity of cultures, practices, perspectives, ‘Closer Than They Appear’ serves as a monumental intersection between spatial and temporal nodes, offering a space for reflection on the journey taken.
Yavuz Gallery, Sydney 30 July to 28 August 2020
FX Harsono, ‘Writing in the Rain’, 2012, performance video still. Image courtesy of ISA Art and Design.
Corporeal / Material: On Performance Art and Photography
Curated by Riyadhus Shalihin, ISA Art and Design presents ‘Corporeal / Material’, the gallery’s first online exhibition featuring the works of 14 performance artists including Agung Eko Sutrisno, Arahmaiani, FX Harsono, Semsar Siahaan and Wimo Ambala Bayang. Displaying a range of archives and photographs of significant performances from 1977 to 2020, the exhibition investigates the role of photography and performance as both artefacts and independent works of art. Through this presentation, we see the evolution of performance art and its increasing association with technology.
ISA Art & Design 15 July to 30 August 2020
Ho Rui An, ‘Student Bodies’, 2019, video still. Image courtesy of A+ Works of Art.
A+ Online Festival of Video Art
In conjunction with the 3rd anniversary of A+ Works of Art, this festival is a result of Southeast Asian collectors’ increased interest in video art. Recognising the significant role of technological platforms in the art world, ‘A+ Online Festival of Video Art’ challenges the static presentation of two-dimensional artworks online by tapping on people’s familiarity of watching videos in the digital realm. Curators Au Sow Yee, Marc Gloede, Ray Langenbach and Trương Quế Chi each take turns to exhibit their selection of artists and their artworks throughout the event, bringing together a variety of styles of video art in Southeast Asia through diverse and personal lenses.
A+ Works of Art 1 August to 12 September 2020
