art stage singapore 2013

mekongcountries
market report
By Payal Uttam

The Mekong River courses through the heart ofSoutheast Asia plunging from the heights of theTibetan plateau into the deltas of Vietnam. In thelast decade, the countries bordering this waterway have transformed rapidly. As their economies
develop and ideological conflicts subside, the region has given rise to a burgeoning contemporary
art scene.
Today a new wave of artists from Cambodia,
Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam have entered
the world stage. Shrugging off the weight of history, their work is a heady mix of performance,large-scale installation and traditional media.
Connecting artists from this diverse region areshared interests in storytelling, materiality andvernacular tradition. Much of their art unravels
national narratives raising new questions about
memory, migration and identity.

Today a newwave of artists
from Cambodia,
Myanmar,Thailand andVietnam haveentered theworld stage.
While the Mekong countries have a vibrant history of art activity, it is only recently that they
have come to international attention. Thai artists

have been at the forefront with exhibitions in major museums and a pavilion at the Venice Biennale
since 2003. Lately, however, artists from Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam have been gaining
ground in biennales and triennials worldwide.
Growing confidence in the Southeast Asian
economy has been paralleled by heightened demand for art from the region. The secondary
market for Southeast Asian art began with Christie’s and Sotheby’s holding inaugural auctions in
Singapore in 1994 and 1996 respectively. Overthe years, Indonesian and Filipino artists havedominated the market but things are shiftingwith both auction houses now broadening theirsales categories to include contemporary art from
Vietnam and Thailand.
In 2011, Christie’s integrated Southeast Asianartists into their Asian 20th Century and Con-

art stage singapore 2013

Pinaree Sanpitak (b.1961, Thailand)

One of Thailand’s most celebrated women artists, Pinaree Sanpitak creates evocative sculptures and installations that explore the femaleform. Employing materials such as silk, glass, riceand paper, Sanpitak invites viewers to touch her
work and activate their senses. A central motif in
her oeuvre are breast-shaped stupas which touchon the place of women in religion.
Rirkrit Tiravanija (b.1961, Thailand)

Widely recognised for his food-sharing performances, Rirkrit Tiravanija dissolves boundaries
between art and life. Inviting viewers to inhabit
communal environments, he interrogates ideas of
public service and the function of art. In objectbased works like his recent Untitled 2008-2011(the map of the land of feeling) I-III, Tiravanija created an 25m scroll tracing his journey as an artist.
Bùi Công Khánh (b.1972, Vietnam)

temporary Art sales taking them out of theirregional silo and onto a larger platform. Auction houses such as Larasati, Masterpiece andBorobudur have also become increasingly active
and the number of foreign galleries representing
Southeast Asian artists has risen.
Two years ago, the Singapore Art Museum helda landmark exhibition titled Negotiating Home,
History and Nation: Two Decades of Contemporary
Art in Southeast Asia 1991–2011, held in tandemwith the Singapore Biennale, featuring a numberof Mekong artists. In 2009, the 6th Asia Pacific
Triennial of Contemporary Art devoted a specialplatform to the Mekong region including artistsfrom Cambodia and Myanmar for the first time.
With institutional infrastructure still developing in the Mekong, the Singapore Art Museum,Queensland Art Gallery and Fukuoka Asian Art
Museum have played a critical role in collecting
and exhibiting artists from the region. In 2012,
the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation announced the UBS MAP Global Art Initiative which
will involve museum acquisitions of artwork fromMekong river countries as well as a travelling exhibition opening at the Guggenheim Museum thisyear. Within the region, development continuesof The National Art Gallery, Singapore—devoted
to 19th and 20th century Southeast Asian art—
which is due to open in 2015.
Rattana Vandy (b.1980, Cambodia)

Rattana Vandy’s photographs venture into thedark underbelly of Cambodia’s past. From fireravaged towns to bomb scarred landscapes, Vandy documents the wounded terrain of the coun-try. Raw and unabashed, his photographs ask
probing questions about politics, the aftermathof war and contemporary Khmer culture.
Sopheap Pich (b.1971, Cambodia)

A leading artist of his generation, Sopheap Pich
recently returned to Cambodia after fleeing thecountry in 1979. Reviving childhood memories
from the Khmer Rouge period, he weaves tactile sculptures from bamboo, rattan and burlap,
materials associated with Cambodian craft andfarming. His subjects include oversized humanorgans, military equipment and architecturalforms.
Aung Ko (b.1981, Myanmar)

Performance artist Aung Ko was born in Htone
Bo, a small village outside Pyay. Deeply influenced by his birthplace, his practice is centred onrural life in Myanmar. Recently, he worked withvillagers to build an unusual 3-seater bicycle.
Composed of a mixture of old and new parts, thepiece tackles the country’s past and the directionof its future.
Tun Win Aung and Wah Nu(b.1970s, Myanmar)

Artist couple Tun Win Aung and Wah Nu are
two of Myanmar’s most talked about artists.
Producing bold performance, installation andvideo works, they confront the limitations placedon cultural practitioners in their country. Among
their newest works is a poignant series of photographs titled Blurring the Boundaries showing
maquettes for artwork that have little hope ofbeing realised.

above Bùi Công Khánh, Saigon Slum, 2012, multi-media installation with photography and video, digital print, 55 x 70 cm,
Image courtesy of Yavuz Fine Art.
opposite Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba, Breathing is free 12, 756.3: JAPAN, Hopes & Recovery, 1,789km, 2011, 176 runnners, 33 navigators,

video installation with binoculars, Commissioned by Yokohama Triennale 2011, Image courtesy of the artist and Mizuma Art Gallery.

Bùi Công Khánh is one of the most compelling
artists to emerge from Vietnam’s post-doi moi
generation. Working across a range of media including sculpture, installation and performance,
his art challenges ideas of progress in his country.
Recently, Bùi painted a series of traditional blueand-white porcelain vases with contemporary
street scenes and advertisements capturing theshifting values of his society.
Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba(b.1968, Vietnam)

Based in Ho Chi Minh City, Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba is known for his hauntingly beautiful videoworks. Filming men plunged underwater dragging cyclos along the ocean floor, he grapples
with the plight of refugees and the Vietnameseboat people. For his latest performance piece,Breathing is Free, the artist plans to run the diameter of the earth paying homage to the refugees’
struggle for freedom.

Other Names to Know

Manit Sriwanichpoom (Thailand), Sutee Kunavichayanont (Thailand), Leang Seckon (Cambodia), Than Sok (Cambodia), Dinh Q. Lê (Vietnam), Tiffany Chung (Vietnam), Aung Myint(Myanmar), Nge Lay (Myanmar)