No Country: Say hello to Asia’s most challenging and inventive artists
PUBLISHED May 9th, 2014 01:53 am | UPDATED January 20th, 2016 02:41 pm
When I heard that the Guggenheim’s critically acclaimed No Country: Contemporary Art for South and South East Asia was making it’s way to Singapore via Hong Kong, having debuted in New York, I was excited to say the least.
For those not familiar with the Guggenheim name, let me break it down for you. This is one of the most influential modern and contemporary art powerhouses the world has to offer, with a network spanning from New York, to Venice and Bilbao to Abu Dhabi. When a powerhouse like this turns its attention towards Asia with something like No Country, which is under the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative, you wouldn’t want to miss the boat when it sails.
The showcase of 19 works by 16 artists and collectives from 11 countries across the region is the culmination of curator June Yap’s ambitious hunt for Asia’s most challenging and inventive artists – both emerging and established. The result is a compelling showcase of painting, photography, sculpture and video, which melds historical and contemporary influences to thought provoking effect.
Take for instance Love Bed, which is an intricate work of stainless steel. It might lure you in with its beauty, only to turn things on its head with its message of political and gender-specific violence as the notion of a bed – a place of rest and emotional warmth – is rendered threatening by its stainless steel discomfort.
Tayeba Begum Lipi (b. 1969) Love Bed, 2012
A monochromatic image of an American fighter jet cruising over Afghanistan after 9/11 will draw you in before the accompanying words from William McKinley, the U.S. President from 1897 – 1901, wash over you with notions of the United State’s duty towards the Philippines in an ironic nod towards colonialism.
Norberto Roldan (b. 1953) F-16, 2012
The boldness of Places of Rebirth could be mistaken for an Indian movie poster, as it jumps off the wall at you before taking you on a journey through the geopolitics that brought the artist’s family from South Asia to Thailand…
Navin Rawanchaikul (b. 1971) Places of Rebirth, 2009
whilst the beguiling form of Morning Glory lifts the ubiquitous flower of its namesake to new abstract heights all the while using traditional materials used in Khmer rural life.
Sopheap Pich (b. 1971) Morning Glory, 2011
No Country is a fascinating sweep of not only the cultural and creative achievements of South and Southeast Asia, but of historical influences and the impact of modern times. With all works having been acquired for The Guggenheim’s own collections, to miss this exhibition would be to miss out on a slice of the powerful art that The Guggenheim has become internationally celebrated and revered for. Since there is no Guggenheim Museum in Asia, this is the closest you’re going to get to a piece of that risk-taking art pie.
No Country: Contemporary Art for South and Southeast Asia is exhibiting from 10th May – 20th July 3014 at The Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA), Block 43 Malan Road, Gillman Barracks, 109443. Admission is free. For more information on the exhibition see the CCA Facebook page here and for more information on the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative see here.
