Even though the world did not end last Friday, in the past decade we have witnessed natural disasters, the effects of climate change and unrest around the globe. One big question remains: how safe are we in this world?
Koh Sato’s In The Sea Fog .
The James H.W. Thompson Foundation and The Jim Thompson Art Center recently launched the "Safe Place In The Future (?)" art exhibition. This showcase of promising artists was first shown in 2009, at VER Gallery, Bangkok, and its new incarnation continues to explore the concept of a "safe place".
Placed on the grey walls of a dim room, the works by 11 local and international artists and groups focus on the overwhelmingly fragile circumstances that put the world at risk. The exhibition incorporates sculpture, interactive media, documentary films and photography. Each piece echoes the artist's strong vision, which in turn helps trigger the audience's concern over safety issues of the world we live in now.
Under the daring theme, "Dystopia Now, Utopia Never", the exhibition is divided into three chapters.
The first is "Ungovernable Power", which garners works that focus on the after-effects of the unpredictable and unstoppable forces of natural disasters.
Among the most powerful is Japanese artist Koh Sato's 18-minute experimental video, In The Sea Fog. Sato lost his mother in the tsunami that hit Japan in March last year, and through this work he shares both his personal and communal mourning. Sharing the same room is Shadowlands, a collection of photography by Greenpeace, Robert Knott and Antoinette de Jong that records the catastrophic effect on the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, following the tsunami.
The highlight of the first section is This Place Is Mine, by Indonesian-based Dutch artist Mella Jaarsma, which features a set of costumes interspersed between shelters, tents and flags. Jaarsma lives in Yogyakarta, which was struck by an earthquake in 2006. She took photographs of the ruins, and through her documentation, Jaarsma revealed how NGOs were fighting over the affected areas, putting flags to reserve territory where they wanted their organisation to be in charge. Puzzled by the experience, Jaarsma makes strong comments though her works about the ironic relationship between the NGOs and the community they are trying to "save".
Comprised of four works, the second part, named "Invisible Structure", explores and concentrates on contemporary man-made crises. The 12-minute video, The Financial Crisis by Danish artist group Superflex, offers a brief chronicle of the global financial crisis and the economic meltdown. Thai artist Pisut Srimhok offers a touching one-hour documentary, Huai Hin Dum, that captures the lives of Pwo Karen villagers, representing the beautiful culture and hardship of hill tribes in the country.
A photomontage by journalist Piyasak Ausap, Dialogues On Discrepancy, comprises photographs of violence in the South and the political crackdown in Bangkok in May 2010. The overlapped images from two events in one big picture creates a powerful and sentimental impact. In Glance Left And Right, Pattara Chanruechachai collects daily newspaper articles on economic problems in the country. He prints the images of deserted buildings, evidence of the country's economic clash, found in the suburbs and pastes them onto the canvas.
The last room is "New Hope", the title reflecting that the selected works examine alternatives and imagine future co-habitation.
Thasnai Sethaseree's The Structure Of Fear is a quasi social research project in collaboration with Bongkoch I-soonthanaset and Mute Mute Studio. The artist created www.thestructure offear.org and invited people to post their fears on the website. The artists created the installation in response to the dialogue.
Inspired by the recent flooding in the city, a group of students from the Faculty of Architecture at Silpakorn University created Bangkok Adaptive City. The result of a design workshop can be seen in 2045 _ Bangkok, A Vernacular Metropolis, Running On Water. The group introduces diverse design strategies that lead to practical solutions.
Malaysian filmmaker Chris Chong Chan Fui presents Kolam, a 12-minute experimental film about the Lampu'uk villagers of Aceh, after they were traumatised by the earthquake and tsunami of 2004.
Representing Singapore is Michael Lee and his graphic design The Second-Hand City that evokes the metaphorical relationship between modern man and architecture. Lee demonstrates his background in architecture, adding his imagination, and has created a piece which satirises the world today.
A photomontage by journalist Piyasak Ausap, Dialogues On Discrepancy .
