Die Bangkok Art Biennale (BAB) Foundation präsentiert The Spirits of Maritime Crossing [Die Geister der maritimen Überfahrt], eine offizielle kollaterale Ausstellung der 60. Internationalen Kunstausstellung – La Biennale di Venezia. Gezeigt wird eine Konstellation von Kunstwerken aus Südostasien, die kulturelle Strömungen und Wasser in Bewegung als Metaphern für unerforschte Ozeane und Territorien reflektieren. Die Bandbreite der ausgestellten Arbeiten reicht von Gemälden und Skulpturen bis hin zu Mischtechniken und Videoinstallationen.

In The Spirits of Maritime Crossing, kuratiert von Prof. Dr. Apinan Poshyananda, geht es um solche Themen wie Vertreibung, Diaspora, Kolonialismus und Hybride aus verschiedenen Kulturen in Südostasien mit besonderem Fokus auf der Symbolik des Wassers und der Überquerung von Meeren. Die Bangkok Art Biennale Foundation wurde von der Thai Beverage Public Company Limited (ThaiBev) mit Unterstützung des öffentlichen und privaten Sektors gegründet.

Marina Abramović und Pichet Klunchun: The Spirits of Maritime Crossing, 2022. Performed von Marina Abramović und Pichet Klunchun unter der Regie von Apinan Poshyananda, Stereo, 34.27 Min. Im Auftrag der Bangkok Art Biennale Foundation. Videotrailer auf YouTube.
Videostill. Courtesy Künstlerin und Tänzer. © Bangkok Art Biennale Foundation

Chitti Kasemkitvatana and Nakrob Moonmanas: Our Place in Their World, 2023. Two-channel video installation, color, sound, 4:00 min. Commissioned by Bangkok Art Biennale Foundation.
© Photo: Haupt & Binder, Universes in Universe

In parallel worlds of Italy and Siam, Chitti Kasemkitvatana and Nakrob Moonmanas create phantasmagorial montages of foreigners and commoners whispering in different tongues.

Jompet Kuswidananto: Terang Boelan (Moonshine), 2022. Broken glasses, glass chandeliers, iron, wood, upright piano components, electronics, 200 x 150 x 200 cm. 
© Photo: Haupt & Binder, Universes in Universe

Colonizers and missionaries brought new faith and left behind painful memories. Jompet Kuswidananto’s twinkling shards evoke broken vessels and shattered dreams in the vast ocean.

Alwin Reamillo. From the series: Jesus is condemned to death, 2023. Mixed media on a constructed box and objects, 61 x 30 x 14.3 cm each. 
© Photo: Haupt & Binder, Universes in Universe

Across the archipelago, Christianity became enmeshed with locality. Alwin Reamillo weaves cultural currents through found objects and assemblages. Fourteen Stations of the Cross reveal layers of colonialism and Christian iconography through subjects on migration, New World Disorder and globalization.

Natee Utarit: Temple of the King, 2019. Oil on canvas, 190 x 262 cm (left)
The Man without a past, 2018. Oil on canvas, 190 x 228 cm (right)
© Photo: Haupt & Binder, Universes in Universe

Natee Utarit infuses Buddhist philosophy with Western art history that convey contradiction and absurdity. East-West encounters depict foreigners everywhere in temples and piazzas. Convoluted time and space take viewers back to the time when serene and exotic life of foreigners searched for abundance and refuge between Venice and Bangkok.

Bounpaul Phothyzan: Story from Plateau, 2019. Metal sculpture, 40 x 40 x 200 cm. 
© Photo: Haupt & Binder, Universes in Universe

For Bounpaul Phothyzan, the remnants during American occupation in Southeast Asia left scars and trauma. Bombshells discarded in rice fields are carved to record victims crippled and killed by mighty foreigners. They are a haunting testament to the memory of violence.

Khvay Samnang, Calling for Rain, 2021. Single channel video, colour, sound, 30'42". Commissioned for the Children’s Biennale by the National Gallery of Singapore. 
© Photo: Haupt & Binder, Universes in Universe

Mythological dancers by Khvay Samnang inspired by Ramayana relate to hegemony and deforestation. Rain dance is intertwined with local worship to nourish harvest and dispel foreign threats from the fire dragon.

Yee I-Lann: Budi's Song, 2023. Single channel film, 12:37 min. loop. 
Jalan-jalan cari Jalan (Walking around looking for the Way), 2024. Bajau Sama Dilaut pandanus weav, plastic rubbish collected at Omadal Island, 600 x 250 cm
© Photo: Haupt & Binder, Universes in Universe

Yee I-Lann and sea-based communities explore maritime histories to revive ancestral knowledge. She addresses issues of indigenous connections by collaborating with weavers and local communities. Mats stitched with rubbish washed ashore by tidal currents connect Venice and Borneo.

Truong Cong Tung, The State of Absence – Voices from Outside, 2020 - Ongoing. Gourds, water, soil, seeds, machinery, time, and temperature, variable dimension. 
© Photo: Haupt & Binder, Universes in Universe

Gourds by Truong Cong Tung are analogous to spirits from Vietnam, with drops of water and bubbles symbolizing time and decay shared by humanity. These strange objects are reminders of distant land and foreigners across maritime crossings.

Jakkai Siributr: There's no Place, 2020. Ongoing geographically mobile collaborative 'call-and-response' embroidery installation, hand embroidery on fabric, dimensions variable.
© Photo: Haupt & Binder, Universes in Universe

Embroideries by Jakkai Siributr evoke the plight of stateless people, whose pursuit of freedom is a violent path. As a commentary on ethnic cleansing, Siributr collaborated with asylum seekers, who are assumed to be strangers and foreigners everywhere they go.

Moe Satt: Hunting & Dancing: 15 years, 2023. Two-channel, B/W, sound, 4K video, 12:52 min, performed by Moe Satt and Liah Frank, camera by Martin Toloku. 
Courtesy the artist; Nova Contemporary. © Moe Satt

Moe Satt uses his body as a space of identity, difference, and estrangement. His video performance, inspired by dance and tribal hunting, suggests survival of sectarian violence in his homeland.

Priyageetha Dia: The Sea is a Blue Memory, 2022. 3D animation, 10:25 min. Commissioned by Kochi-Muziris Biennale. Supported by National Arts Council, Singapore.
© Photo: Haupt & Binder, Universes in Universe

Priyageetha Dia’s video of the deep sea examines ancestral migratory movements from India to the Malay Peninsula. Drawing from her family experience, Dia looks at the way migrants across the Indian Ocean are perceived as foreigners and marginalized. Maritime currents enmesh subaltern culture with diasporic histories.

Kawita Vatanajyankur: A Symphony Dyed Blue, 2021. 4K video, 6:13 min. Still from video. 
© Photo: Haupt & Binder, Universes in Universe

For her piece, Kawita Vatanajyankur, performs in foamy blue dye from textile industry as a way to discuss female labor in the patriarchal society and the role of water in the context of femininity and textile industry. Female labor, feminism and abuse are parts of being foreign.

Südostasiatische Kunstschaffende aus dem Globalen Süden sind sich in vielerlei Hinsicht ähnlich, unterscheiden sich aber auch durch Ethnien, Religionen und Sprachen, die sie einander fremd machen. Das Erbe dieser Nationen zeigt sich in den Fremden, Flüchtlingen, Immigranten und Staatenlosen, den so genannten "kulturellen Hybriden". The Spirits of Maritime Crossing ist eine Reise von Südostasien nach Venedig durch kulturelle und diasporische Erfahrungen - betrachtet mit den Augen von Fremden, die aus ihrer Heimat vertrieben wurden, physisch und geistig.

Prof. Dr. Apinan Poshyananda, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Bangkok Art Biennale is curator of The Spirits of Maritime Crossing exhibition. Poshyananda has curated and directed international art exhibitions across Asia, Europe, USA, and Oceania including Traditions/Tensions, New York; Thai and Australian sections, Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art; Asian section, São Paulo Biennial; Thai section, Istanbul Biennial; as well as Tout à Fait Thai, Paris. Commissioner and curator of the Thai Pavilion, 50th Venice Biennale 2003; Commissioner of the Thai Pavilions at the 51st Venice Biennale 2005, and at the 52nd Venice Biennale 2007.

Poshyananda comments: “We are delighted to announce The Spirits of Maritime Crossing as a historical event as Southeast Asia artists will participate in the collateral program at the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. Moreover, it is a great honor that a new short film featuring world-renowned Marina Abramović, winner of Golden Lion at Venice Biennale, will be shown at Palazzo Mangilli Valmarana. The contents of this film and exhibition that focuses on sea travel, displacement and diaspora relate directly with the theme of Foreigners Everywhere”.

see the biography

Palazzo Smith Mangilli Valmarana was once the home of British Consul Joseph Smith, who was a passionate art collector. He was an agent of Canaletto and patron of Venetian painters. Smith and his wife, soprano singer Catherine Tofts turned the palazzo into a bustling social and artistic hub for art collectors, patrons, scholars, aficionados, artists, actors, musicians, philosophers, diplomats, and dignitaries. Among the visitors were Pietro Longhi, Giovanni Baptista Piazzetta, Giuseppe Zais, Carlo Goldoni, Rosalba Carriera. Count Giuseppe Mangilli who later became owner commissioned Giannantonio Selva to direct the decoration of the interiors in neoclassical style with subjects related to virtue, amour, and sacrifice. The palazzo is still perfectly preserved and will open to the public after 12 years with the launch of The Spirits of Maritime Crossing.

The Spirits of Maritime Crossing
Palazzo Smith Mangilli Valmarana
Strada Nova, 4392
Campo Santi Apostoli, Cannaregio
Vaporetto-Station: Ca' d'Oro
Geöffnet Mi - So 10 - 18 Uhr
(an Feiertagen geschlossen)
Lage auf der Karte

Website: smc.bkkartbiennale.com

Bangkok Art Biennale Foundation
(Hauptsitz)
20. Etage, Park Ventures Ecoplex
57 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Patumwan
Bangkok 10330, Thailand

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Aus Presseinformationen. Deutsche Übersetzung: Universes in Universe.
© Foto oben: Marina Abramović und Pichet Klunchun: The Spirits of Maritime Crossing, 2022 (Videostill). Einkanalvideo, performed von Marina Abramović und Pichet Klunchun, Regisseur Apinan Poshyananda. Im Auftrag der Bangkok Art Biennale Foundation. Courtesy Künstlerin und Tänzer. © Bangkok Art Biennale Foundation