Pro1e t Ove view

F Jrurch1Yasuko

Asia: The Possibility of a Collaborative SpaceConstruction Project--Under
FuruichiYasuko

entered the modern era. As result, an idea of Asia based onWestern modernism that perceives Asia as a region "other than"the West prevailed over the idea of Asia represente d by the
Asians themselves. The progressivism and universal ism of thehumanities of modern times has , from its Western-cen t ric
viewpoint, constantly defined "the other'' as something distinctive.
This has preconditioned Asia and its peers among the "other s" tomaintain their positions based on a colonial differentiation, and to
reinforce the position of the West.
Discussing Asia in Japa n is a perplexing and awkwardbusiness, probably because the complex circumstances in the
prewar days and the memories of war that follow have not been
properly reconciled, and remain an issue. The historical past ofJapan's aggressive war on, and colonial contro l of, East andSoutheast Asia was an Eastern ·version of modern Westernimperialism, and has continued to have a subtle effect on Japan's
relations with other parts of the region, preventing any realdevelopment in As ian cultural exchange. For example , art
programs that promo ted Asian art in Japan were initiallyregarded
as orientalism-based cultu ral imper ialism on the part of a11
econom ically better off Japan by the relevant Asian countr ies, andwere at times criticized by the arts pro fessiona ls in the region.
Both those criticizing and those being criticized could not help but
be sensitive to the memories of the past.
Today , in order to solve the region's common problems
which have increased as a resu lt of the rapid formation of an
structure , the Asian countries have had tointerdependenttranscend the confines of nation and state and to jointly address
particularly urgent issues. And, in order to address this reality,
what is required is not so much an Asia as defined in a historicaland abstract se nse, but "Asia as a method" [ 8 ] or "Asia as afunction." This does not mean an Asia that functions for the
benefit of an individualnation, as Japan did before the war. Rather,
the expectations are for Asia to function as part of the process inwhich pe.ople in the region question their own identity or acquire a

The economic development experienced by Asia over thelast I0 to 15 years or so, has culminated in Asia achieving a wellestablished posit ion as the growth center of the world. At thesame time, this development has resulted in the further growth of
the relationship of interdependence within the region, broadly anddeeply influencingone another's societies and cultures. Through its
encounter with Western modernity in the 19th century andthrough its history of resistance and development during the 20th
century, Asia, which has always been comprised of diverse ethnic
groups and cultures , is now, in the 21 st century , entering a
dynamic era of transformation. The information revolution and thewave of global ization are further accelerating this change .
Americanization, represented by the capitalism-based massconsumer culture of the post-World War II era , has penetrated
Asia to become integrated into Asian society. People have begun
to question their own identity, and at the same time, to transcendtheir own national boundaries to seek a dialogue with theirneighbors on the subject of the future direction for Asia. It is
within this context that "Under Construction ," the three-yea r,
Asian-based progressive, joint-curatorial project began in April
2000. After the process of building, of preparations, of creating
something, the project will finally reach its cu lmination in
Decl;mber 2002 in Tokyo.

What is Asia?
People's idea of Asia differs depending on where they are interms of time and space. The origin of the word "Asia" lies in theancient Assyrian word for "sunrise." In Greek, the "land of therising sun" was contrasted with the "land of the setting sun, ", eventually giving rise to the words "Asia" and "Europe" as used
today. In this sense, the ideas of Asia and Europe were, from the
beginning, one of oppo sition, and it was believed that they were
1 mutually complementary territor ies, both of which were essential
for "the world" to become complete. When considering Asia in
geographical terms, apparently it was not until the second half of1
the 16th century , the years fo llowing the Age of thlo Great
Voyages, that the word "As ia" was used to describe the vastterritory that covered the Eurasian continent, which rema ins muchthe same to day. [ O] Until then, Asia had been seen in a tempo ral
and spatial context, but a hierarchica l value was applied as weI

new identity.

The Tra nsfo rmatio n of the Asian Art Enviro nment
Due to th/ profound relationship between Wester ;;.nd
Asian countries since the advent of modernism , there has 1,ee :.

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Proiect O..-erview

Fururch Yasul<o5 .mare 'Koteri kcdaJr; eke~ asia· {Asiain Classicaland Ancient Times), T okushuu asiato wa nanika" (Special Issue W hat is Asia). Kokusoi Kou,yu, 71, 1996, pp 36. 39.
W'Of"dsAm as a method"'tc describe tJ;e processof its formation was ~rscused by Takeuchi Yoshimi. Takeuchi Yoshimi, "Houhou to shite no asia'' (Asiaas a method). (First published in 1961 by0

risb: ll./iho'1.toasra(Japan
anOAsa,! ChtkumaShobou, 1993, p. 469.
eferto the chart at· e end of the catafogue(pp.204-205)for detailson the project's overall strueture and process.

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strong interest amongst Asian countries in American and European
art movements . However, little was known about the art ofneighboring Asian countri es, and this situation prevailed until theearly 1990s . However , the exchange that took place from the
1990s within the Asian region gradually strengthened their peerto-peer relationships . Examples include: the exhibitions with afocus on Southeast Asian art which Japan and Austra lia have been
actively involved in organizing; the building of new modern andcontemporary
art museums and the establishment of art
collections in Korea , China and Singapore and others ; th r iving
large-sc:ale international exhibitions such as the biennales and thetnennales in East Asia; and the prominence of Asian artists in theWestern art world based on a postco lonial discourse. Althoughthese trends hinged upon cultural policies that were in turn linked
to the political and economic policies of each country and region,
the advent of the information age in the late 1990s resulted in afurther upheaval in the structure of the art world. For example,
through the growth of the Internet , collaborations transcending
borders began to take place between alternative spaces and small
creative units in countries that lack~d an art infrastructure . A
situation has been created in which different types of artists canbecome invo lved in the cr eat ive process in a range of art
environments , from a national through to an individuallevel, and as
the relationship of artistic exchange becomes increasingly complex,
there is also increasing freedom of choice. And the driving force
beh ind this trend is the young generation, baptized by media
globalization and the members of which share the sensibilities of
the times.
The primary aim of the Japa_nFoundation Asia Center's art
activities, spanning more than a decade , has been to introduce
conte mporary Asian art to Japan. However, there have also beenongoing initiatives to identify modern Asia through, for example,
die "Asian Modernism" exhibition (1995) and to create a forum toencou rage dialogue on Asian art by organizing internatio nal
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symposia . However , the dynamism of As ian societ y and th eaccompanying changes in the art environment have exceeded thepace of the se attempts . This is encouraging a process of freeing
oneself from preconceived ideas of art, and at the same time ,leading us tow ards a new level of questioning of what Asian art is.
In other words, a search has begun for Asian art that doe s not
repre sent a W es tern definition of Asian a rt, but which issomething that is defined by Asians themselves. And a new theory
and a methodology are required now for this to be realized.
And here , we turn to the d iscussion of "Under
Const r uction. " The power of imagination akin t o th at of anastronomer , has always beckoned us, through the ages, into asomewhat romantic world. At the same time, this imagination has
given us opportunities for new andc-un_expected progress. "Ifseveral small exhibitions, all based on the same theme, were to beheld in various Asian locations at the same time, and these were to
be all viewed from afar or compiled into a catalogue, they should
appear as one large exhibition." A conversation along these linesthat took place one day, at the turn of the century , provided theide a for this "Under Const r uct ion " project . The aim was toorganize a se ries of independent exhibition s in different Asian
location s, and at the same t ime, to present them as a single
exhibition. The project was to plot multiple dots of equally borderless values that exist at the same level, but for the multiple dots , atthe same time, to create a single space. The keyword for linking
these multiple "dots " can be "Asia" as a function. A space namedAsia cou ld be conceived in this way ~·· Although the image wasnebulous and abstract , we instinctively felt that this was theprimary theme and practical method that was most appropriate
for our sea rch for a new relationship with our neighbors withdiverse backgrounds. We wanted to capture Asia as it is today, as
we ll as its future direction by creating a coilabor at ive space
through which an exhibition would be organized based on thetheme "What is Asia?" and thus to quest io n our ident ity and

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Furuichi Yasvko j Project Overview

relevance. Asia will be defined by Asians, instead of just being ahistorical concept rooted in memories, and this task is one that
only we who live in the same age and space are able to do. The
framew?r k for this project was set, based on these principles. [ e Jseveral instances where there was a clear difference in opinion
between those who think in English and those who think in the ir
native language. This tendency was conspicuous during the processof deciding the exhibition title, "Under Construct ion." The native
English-speakers pushed for the use of "Remix" on the premisethat the Third World image conjured up by the words "Under
Con struction" conveys a negative impression. In contrast, thosefor whom English is a foreign language and simply a means ofcommunication , did not have the same impressi o n. They saw"Under Construct ion" as a positive phrase symbolizingthe entire
progressive pro ject, and chose to use the words as a powerfulmeans of promotion. A whole day was spent with both parties
trying to persuade each other while , at the same t ime ,Creat ing a Collaborat ive Space
Creating the collabor ative space for "Under Construction " hasbeen a process of trial and error . The curators who came togethe rfor thrs project were all young in their twent ies and thirties .
History has no direct relevance to them . They live in a global,
media-based society, and share the same sensibilicyrooted in the ir
cultural environment . The re may be a slight discrepancy in thequantity of information among some countries, but essentially they
have been each required to understand the international art scene
and at the same time to address the local art scene . However ,none of the curator s had met each other before, and theprospects were daunting when it came to actually putting together
the ex hibition . The initial catalyst in the birth of a common
awareness among the curato rs was the research trip that wascarr ied out in different Asian countries with the curators offering
each other their suppor t . This became the first step toward s
creating a collaborative space and made a major contribution tofacilitating the process that followed. Nine curators from eight
Asian countries initially participated in the project in response to
an invitation by the Asia Center . However , this number was
reduced to eight curators from seven countries by the second
meeting. This drove home the difficultiesof forming relationships
and t he fact that relat ionships are not always as harmonious asanticipated.
The differences in cultural backgrounds that could be
glimpsed through gaps i n the discussions have been particularly
P;>rtant when considering the identity of Asia. Englishhas been
e common language used in the meetings. There have been"\ understandingopposingviews, and in the end, everyone agreed on

1tnis title. No doubt we could go on to examine the cultural theory
surrounding the issue of the use of Englishin Asia, but this will not
be attempted he re . Reaching a consensus was the first ta sk
achieved by all participants, and signified the fact that a range ofdifferent Asian identit ies is able to create a single, comm on
platform through a process of extensive and committed dialogue.
The next major step was to address the issue of how eachcurator was going to express the aim of this project throug h theseven local exhibitions , which were to be organized in venues
unique to each Asian city. There were several symbolic incidents
that addressed this challenge : the construction of the Fabriek("factory" In Dutch) Gallery in Indonesia and the shocking burglary that
followed; the Beijinglocal exhibition became the first Governme ntapproved contemporary art exhibition to be held in China. In a
fluid cultural and social environment, the curators played the roleof a medium for encouraging change in their respect ive societies,
by presenting works of art from their own count ry and other
Asian countries . Putting together the local exhibitions enabled allparticipants t o recognize , once again, that art in Asia is not"something that lies within a system ," but a function in a living

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relationship with society.
The difficulty of the final Tokyo exhibition lay in the actual
collaboration among the nine curators, who, whil~ respecting thecontext of the seven local exhibitions, had to create a single
exhibition by reorganizing the 43 artists/groups that first appearedin the local exhibitions, and separating them into two different
venues. And, this was to be carried out within Tokyo's local art
and social context. This process required a many-sided and multileveled imagination dtle to the fact that there were several
curators involved. In other wor ds, the process challenged theaccepted theory that curation by a single curator, as opposed to ateam of curators, is better at producing an exhibition with a strong
impact . If this Tok yo exhibition, which is the result of thiscollaborative effort, were to end up disappointing the audience, itmeans that it has no more significancethan any other existing typeof grqup exhibitions in which the participating artists are selectedby nationality. This could not possibly be a new Asia-based
exhibition. Will the curators be able to disprove this accepted
theory? That answer depends completely on the process to date
and the firmness of the collaborative space that is to be created
while sharing an awareness of issues and carrying out ongoing
discussions on these issues. Naturally, the amount of work involved
has increased dramatically. In addition to the work involving theexhibition itself such as public relations, preparation of thecatalogue, transportation, inviting the artists, and administrative
work such as budget management, a large number of e-mails areexchanged on a daily basis between the curators, artists andorganizers as well as the designers, shippers and printing companies.
Emailsare truly a godsend of the IT revolution. No borders exist intl,is collaborative space. What does exist is the determination. ofeveryone infolved to put together this one exhibition, the bondthat exists between these individuals and their power ofmagination. It is here that we discover a space, our initialvision of amultiple but, at the s~me time, a single space, in its creation .
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Conceptualizing Asia through a Collaborative Spa ce
The three years of "Under Const r uction" have gradually
unearthed areas that were initiallynot apparent. If one were to try
and express in a few words what has been attempted during thisthree-year process, it could be described as an attempt toconceive Asia's present identity through art. It can also be seen as
an attempt to search for Asia as a "subject" instead of an "object"- a self-defined Asia instead of an Asia defined as a remainder ofthe West. This can only be realized in a collaborative space where
many related people carry out equal and mutual exchange. In thisspace, curators from related but different cultures, by practicing
translation of culture through the arts, have found themselves in asituation that can only encourage dialogue or discussion. Although
they have faced difficulties, they have been able to proceed
towards their goal through a process of understanding andmisunderstanding. And through this process, the ro les of eachindividual have changed and have been reinf_orced,resulting in theformation of partnerships and bonds. Our wish is for the binomial
opposition between the West and the rest to be transcended andinstead, for diverse relationships to be embraced, and moreover, a
response to be evoked amongst Asians living in the same age or
people living amongst different cultures. We also hope that the
future is take n into consideration.
That is what "Unde r
Construction," our joint Asia-based project, is all about. We hopethat at the Tokyo exhibition, all the curators and artists involved inthis project will direct the question "What is Asia?" to theaudience, and that the exhibition will be a catalyst for considering
what Asia actually is. Here lies the potential for our collaborat ive
space to expand even further.

Furuichi Yasuko (Exhibition Coordinator/A

The Japan Foundation Asia Center , Japan)