Art and Power Dynamics in Southeast Asia
October 25 @ 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm
On 24 October, the Bangkok Art Biennale or 2024 BAB ‘Nurture Gaia’ will be launched and transform the city into a hub of art and creativity. Four artists, three of them participating in this year event, will speak about their art and more in a panel organized at SEA Junction on October 25 at 5.30 PM. In this panel organized by SEA Junction, BAB and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Thailand, Mella Jaaresma and Agust Ongge from Indonesia, Moe Satt from Myanmar and Kamolros Wonguthum from Thailand will reflect on power dynamics as they are highlighted in their art works and performances.
Details of the speakers and of their artworks and performances are provided below, here just few words to emphasize the complementary of their work in zooming out the concepts of “power” and “repression” in their commercial, political, environmental, gender and other manifestations. Moe Satt in his performance at BAB delves into themes of self, identity, embodiment, and political resistance. His work critically addresses social and political issues in military-ruled Myanmar. Mella Jaaresma and Agus Ongge explore together in a BAB installation the tensions between authenticity and commodification in the use of bark cloths in the province of Papua against the vexed histories of tradition and modernity amidst colonialism and successive central governments of Indonesia. Kamolros Wonguthum, currently exposing at Galery VER in Bangkok, uses feminist mythology to address power dynamics in her work and explore the intersection with capitalism through her “patriarchal social radar”.
Speakers’ Bio and Artwork
Moe Satt (Myanmar)
Moe Satt is a visual and performance artist who uses his own body as a symbolic field for exploring self, identity, embodiment, and political resistance. He is part of a renowned generation of experimental contemporary artists from Myanmar who overcame government censorship and oppression to engage with conceptual artwork, the body, and identity. His works deal with hand gestures and movement. He is currently an Artist in residency at Rijksakademie (2022-2024).
Artwork at BAB
For BAB, Moe Satt reinterprets his first performance piece untitled-1 in 2005, contextualizing it within the current political climate in Myanmar. In this installation, T-shirts suspended in the air reveal their empty shapes, symbolizing the ambiguous perception of Myanmar’s situation by the international community—offering a glimpse but failing to convey the full reality. On October 24-26, he will stay inside the T-shirt for an hour and move a bit, then position himself and cast his T-shirt body. Visitors are invited to use a golden pen to write or draw their hopes and beliefs related to Myanmar’s Spring Revolution on the T-shirt. The T-shirt is displayed as an installation after the performance.
Mella Jaarsma (Netherlands and Indonesia)
Born in the Natherlands, Mella studied studied visual art and continued her studies and work in Jarkata, Indonesia. Mella Jaarsma has become known for her complex costume installations and her focus on forms of cultural and racial diversity embedded within clothing, the body and food. Her works have been presented widely in exhibitions and art events in Indonesia and abroad.
For more information on the artist, please visit www.mellajaarsma.com
Agus Ongge (Indonesia)
Agus Ongge is active as an artist, cultural practitioner, and farmer. He is based in Sentani,
Papua, and is critically engaged with exploring Papuan identity. Ongge received formal education in arts as well as traditional mentorship from elders in the community. His interest in wood carving and rattan crafts is shown through his art work.
Artwork at BAB
In Barkcloth-Dark Cloth, the collaborative installation at BAB of Mella Baarsma and Agus Ongge flashes out tensions between authenticity and commodification. Employing the material of barkcloth, the installation evokes its traditional use as blankets, loin cloth, and sarongs. As paintings on barkcloth are now used for tourist markets, the history of beaten bark for clothing can be forgotten or erased. Two accompanying videos provide insights into this collaboration and the themes beyond.
Kamolros Wonguthum (Thailand and England)
Ros Kamolros holds an MFA Fine Art from Goldsmiths, University of London and is currently based in London and Bangkok. Her work explores urban subjects, repositioning their sub-cultural, societal, and historical significance to reveal underlying power dynamics. Working across installation, photography, video, writing, drawing, painting, poetry, and collage, Kamolros highlights the gaps between ideological perception and societal unconsciousness through her use of materials, imagery, and forms (see further studio@kamolros.com)
Art focus
Kamolros examines feminine forms and subjects, repositioning their cross-cultural and historical essences. She takes these pervasive structures and creates a dialogue around deeper power relations. Her work identifies the gap between ideological perception and the social unconscious of the wider usage of these conventional and pedestrian economic objects of aspiration (VER 2023).
For more information/reservation, please contact us at info@seajunction.org or message us in any social media channel.
Events are free, but donations are welcome to support SEA Junction’s activities.
Organizers
SEA Junction, established under the Thai non-profit organization Foundation for Southeast Asia Studies (ForSEA), aims to foster understanding and appreciation of Southeast Asia in all its socio-cultural dimensions, from arts and lifestyles to economy and development. Conveniently located at Room 407-8 of the Bangkok Arts and Culture Center or BACC (across MBK, BTS National Stadium), SEA Junction facilitates public access to knowledge resources and exchanges among students, practitioners and Southeast Asia lovers. More information at http://seajunction.org/.
The Embassy of the Netherlands in Thailand main focus is managing the Netherlands’ political, economic, and trade relations with Thailand, Cambodia, and Lao PDR and consular affairs. In addition, the embassy also supports creative endeavours and values in which they cherished. More information at https://www.netherlandsandyou.nl/web/thailand/home
Bangkok Art Biennale (BAB) is a biennial art festival set in the capital of Thailand. This year at BAB 2024, it follows the theme “Nurture Gaia” or รักษา กายา focusing on relations between human and nature and under the hypothesis that when nature is defiled, people and animals ultimately suffer. Theme of contemporary challenges like war, climate change and destruction from the hands of humans and healing is shown through out various events. More information at https://www.bkkartbiennale.com/
