Liquidscape: Southeast Asia Today
2024.9.21 - 2024.12.24
Design：Tezzo Suzuki Artwork：Nawin Nuthong 2 sec before revolution in a leaf, Flux, Empty Tomb, Paper Wing Courtesy of the artist and BANGKOK CITYCITY GALLERY.
Today, Southeast Asia is experiencing rapid economic and urban development, varying and diversifying its lifestyles. At the same time, its history and landscapes, beliefs rooted in the land, and relationships with nature also exist as a foundation of society. They sometimes merge and conflict, creating new realities, lifestyles, and worldviews.
The exhibition, named “Liquidscape”, alludes to Southeast Asia’s fluid cultural and social landscape and aims to introduce this state of flux with 12 groups of artists. The participating artists consist of the younger generation, including seven artists born after the 1980s. They have experienced global events such as the end of the Cold War and the advent of technology, including the emergence of the internet, iPhone, and social media, as well as significant changes to the world’s framework and the rise of Asia. Four female artists aim to add new perspectives to existing values by rethinking the female body and the social position of women. Through these experiences and visions, they reflect on Southeast Asia, a region filled with diversity and fluidity.
The commonality found in all works is the artists’ forward-looking attitudes, which seek to answer the question of where we came from and where we are heading in this liquidscape. Through their works, we can learn not only about an aspect of the multifaceted world that is Southeast Asia, but also about the contradictions, chaos, hopes, and new possibilities of contemporary society that exist everywhere worldwide.
【Exhibition Outline】
Title | Liquidscape: Southeast Asia Today
Date | Sep 21 ― Dec 24, 2024
Venue | Arts Maebashi 5-1-16 Chiyoda-machi, Maebashi, Gunma 371-0022
Hours | 10:00 a.m. ― 6:00 p.m. (Admission until 5:30 p.m.)
Closed | Wednesdays
Admissions |￥1,000：General, ￥800：Students, 65+ years old, and groups (10+ people), Free：High school students and under
※Free admission for disability certificate holders plus one caregiver.
※Free admission for Prefecture Citizens Day on October 28th [Mon], Culture Day on November 3rd [Sun], and Human Rights Day on December 10th [Tues].
Participating artists | 12 groups
Exhibition artworks | 23
Director | Fumio Nanjo (Executive Director of Arts Maebashi)
Curator | Yuka Takahashi
Organizer | Arts Maebashi
Cooperation | Singapore Art Museum, Aura Contemporary Art Foundation, 100 Tonson Foundation, Project11 Foundation
Sponsored by | THE JOMO SHINBUN, Gunma TV, FM GUNMA, Maebashi, City FM, Maebashi Chamber of Commerce and Industry
【Key Highlights】
1. Encounter contemporary Southeast Asia captured by 12 artists
Arts Maebashi is proud to present 23 works by 12 artists, a lineup that includes internationally acclaimed artists such as Ho Tzu Nyen and Korakrit Arunanongchai. The young artists making their debut in Japan are equally exciting, offering fresh perspectives on contemporary Southeast Asia. Their works, along with those of the established artists, aim to capture the region’s contemporary society, lifestyle, and culture from innovative angles, challenging current normative values.
Korakrit Arunanondchai, Songs for dying (still), 2021
Co-commissioned by the 13th Gwangju Biennale, Han Nefkens Foundation and Kunsthall Trondheim. Courtesy of the artist, BANGKOK CITYCITY GALLERY, Bangkok, Carlos/Ishikawa, London, C L E A R I N G, New York/Brussels, Kukje Gallery, South Korea.
Citra Sasmita, Timur Merah Project Ⅲ ; Ode to the Sun, 2020 Photo by Ahmad Iskandar, courtesy of Yeo Workshop.
2. Learn the attitudes of living in the flux
Southeast Asia is a dynamic society where diverse cultures and histories intersect and are constantly changing. Examining such a complex region can help us understand the current world and learn how to live in today’s increasingly diversified and fluid society. In contrast to current exhibitions in Japan regarding the region, this exhibition mainly features artists of a younger generation and their new works.
Kawita Vatanajyankur, Shuttle, 2018 Courtesy of the artist and Nova Contemporary.
Kawita Vatanajyankur, My Mother and I (Vacuum III), 2021 Courtesy of the artist and Nova Contemporary.
3. Dive into the image of the liquidscape through immersive works
Through many immersive works with sounds and films, the exhibition will take you into the world of the liquidscape, which is multilayered, polysemic, and endlessly shapeshifting, impossible to seize and only able to be experienced.
Ho Tzu Nyen, T for Time: Timepieces, 2023 Photo by Singapore Art Museum, courtesy of the artist and Kiang Malingue.
Nawin Nuthong, Empty Tomb, 2024 Courtesy of the artist and BANGKOK CITYCITY GALLERY.
【Participating Artists】
*Please click here to see the profile of each participating artist.
Wit Pimkanchanapong（Thailand）
Kawita Vatanajyankur（Thailand）
Khadim Ali + Mumtaz Khan Chopan + Ali Froghi + Hassan Ati (Pakistan / Afghanistan)
Korakrit Arunanondchai（Thailand）
Citra Sasmita（Indonesia）
Charles Lim （Singapore）
Nawin Nuthong（Thailand）
Natasha Tontey（Indonesia）
Ho Tzu Nyen（Singapore）
Mech Choulay + Mech Sereyrath（Cambodia）
Gegerboyo（Indonesia）
Jakkai Siributr（Thailand）
【Related Programs】
Gallery talk by Fumio Nanjo (Executive Director)
Date| Sep 29 and Dec 21 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Venue | Gallery space, Arts Maebashi
Price | Free *Admission ticket required
Capacity | 30 people（Pre-registration required. First-come-first-served basis）
*Registration starts from August 26th [Mon] on the Arts Maebashi website
Curator’s talk on exhibiting artworks
Date | Oct 14, Nov 17, Dec 7 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Venue | Archive, Arts Maebashi
Price| Free *Admission ticket required
*Register on the Arts Maebashi website
