20-Dec-2022
This very attractive gallery is located in the Riverain Centre, an upscale mall in the centre of town.
We caught two exhibitions, both very rewarding. The bigger one, entitled Emotional Asia, featured work from a number of east Asian artists (including many from our neck of the woods):
Liew Kung Yu, mourning demolition in Penang
Chen Wei. Each fragment represents something ordinary, but put them together and you see patterns and themes. Clever
Hou Lulu Shur-Tzy, documenting Southeast Asian brides in Taiwan
Jung Yeondoo, with another clever idea. This is a rolling slideshow, in which the subjects are photographed twice. In the first shot, we see them as they are, while in the second, we see them as they would like to be. Very poignant
Hanh Thi Pham, with Reframing the Family
Vuth Lyno
Indonesian artists' collective Tading Padi (this is a detail from the one at the top). Notice how "asuransi" (insurance) is very clearly in the category that's the work of the devil...
Takamine Tadasu with God Bless America, a stop-motion animation that seeks to "question comtemporary political power dynamics between Japan and the US"
Manit Sriwanichpoom, with This Bloodless War. I guess this falls into the "courageous" category, but the reworking of iconic photographs to feature brand shoppers harried along by a world of consumerism is certainly memorable
Truong Tan, Mother of Peace
There was also a lovely little exhibition entitled The Pearls of Modern Indian Painting:
Abdur Rehman Chughtai, The Extinguished Flame
Rabindranath Tagore
After all that art, you need a coffee and a muffin, in the quiet and airy reading-room/cafe:
Excellent visit.