The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT10) Catalogue

Kids The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art 188 Installation view of the APT10 Kids Park Level title wall design, GOMA, 2021 / APT10 Kids mascot created in collaboration with Vipoo Srivilasa Vipoo Srivilasa Triple Gems 2017 Porcelain / 25 x 20 x 11cm (each) / Courtesy: The artist and Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane; Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne; Olsen Gallery, Sydney; and SAC Gallery, Bangkok / Photograph: Andrew Barchem APT10 Kids overview and Vipoo Srivilasa Collaboration is central to the Children’s Art Centre ethos, and each APT provides a new opportunity to work with artists to develop interactive projects that engage children with ideas and cultures from across the Asia Pacific. Amidst a global pandemic and the different hardships and challenges the artists have faced, projects for APT10 Kids are full of optimism, with a distinct emphasis on inclusivity and the importance of community. Vipoo Srivilasa’s project Garden of Love 2021 encompasses these ideas, with the artist excited by ‘making work that represents a cultural exchange and … that allows the general public to be part of my creative process’. 1 As a Thai-born Australian artist based in Melbourne, Srivilasa missed his friends and family in Thailand while in lockdown. This experience prompted him to consider how many families had been apart for a long time and how he could help children to express their feelings through his APT10 Kids project, which centres on flowers, love and ritual. Participants are invited to choose a flower template and draw a portrait or write a message to the person they miss most, providing an opportunity to pause and reflect on the people who are important in our lives. Flowers are a recurring motif in Srivilasa’s art practice and their meaning changes depending on the project or series of work. In Garden of Love they are a way of delivering a personal message to someone special. The lovable character pictured opposite, named Dok Rak, along with a couple of friends, features in the Garden as part of an animation that will appeal to the very youngest audience members and encourage them to join in and dance along to the music. Covered with petals that radiate from their bellies, these joyful characters are inspired by Srivilasa’s ceramic Flower Bear sculptures, which reflect his approach to making artwork that is ‘a playful blend of historical, figurative and decorative art practices’. 2 Srivilasa has said, ‘I like to make APT10 Kids work that is beautiful, fun and adds a smile to people’s faces, even though the work may talk about difficult social issues’. 3 Colourful projects by Syagini Ratna Wulan, Phuong Ngo and Shannon Novak provide further opportunities for reflection, discussion and creative exchange. The importance of collaboration and community resonates strongly in a drawing project involving the Uramat Clan in Gaulim, Papua New Guinea, and children living in regional Queensland; an artist project by Gidree Bawlee Foundation of Arts, who worked with children in Bangladesh; and an artist project by Jamilah Haji, who worked with children with disability in Thailand. Collectively, the artists represented in APT10 Kids demonstrate a desire to be inclusive and to value the contribution of others, providing different perspectives that emphasise our common need for connectedness. Laura Mudge Endnotes 1 Vipoo Srivilasa, email to the author, March 2021. 2 Penelope Benton, Vipoo Srivilasa , National Association for the Visual Arts, April 2018, <https://visualarts.net.au/artist-files/2018/vipoo- srivilasa/>, viewed May 2021. 3 Srivilasa.