The Second Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art exhibition catalogue (APT2)

ANUSAPATI An important source of inspiration for my works is traditional equipment produced and used by people in the village, which are disappearing, being replaced by modern, industrial made equipment. These traditional objects which show the way people in the past treated the materials are capable of revealing the people's attitude towards nature. Starting from the cutting down of the tree to the simple working method using simple tools, all were done in a spiritual manner, and it is expressed in the beauty of the pounding mortars, rice chests, wooden boats, gongs, and other wooden objects. Looking back to the tradition, I realise that there is so much to learn about things that we have already forgotten . .. The trees used to be our brothers as we all are the children of mother nature. The cracks of the wood and the roughness of its surface is part of its nature. The defect brings its perfection. That is why I don't like to refine and work with it too much and I wish to let the material speak by itself. ARAHMAIANI Nation for sale (translated from Bahasa Indonesia) In the name of profit, all is justified. All is for sale, including the nation and its agencies, inhabitants and possessions. And religion and women have been assigned the same fate. They have become the 'packaging' in the promotion of products, and they have become the 'instruments and weapons' that are used to lubricate economic and political transactions. Life has been stricken with a psychological complex-a complex in which ideology is prostituted by an unshakeable belief in greed. The philosophy of life has become one of extreme materialism. The natural physical environment has changed; it is now a gleaming synthetic environment filled to capacity with plastic waste. Meanwhile, society has become a consuming and compromising herd of docile sheep-devoid of personal opinion and individuality-receiving its daily bombardment of advertising, material goods, and images tainted by things foreign. We are all obsessed with materialism and a taste for Western goods that appear to us as 'sacred objects', which must be protected with guns and defended to the death. Yupha CHANGKOON (translated from Thai) These pictures record the surroundings and impressions of country life and the simplicity of Thai ways. Experiences gained from travelling and talking with acquaintances are transformed into imaginations and special feelings that express the spirit of being Thai, and blend simply with Oriental philosophy. This series of prints is in semi-abstract style, produced on paper envelopes experimenting in three dimensions. Symbols and free forms convey different stories in a simple order that creates inner tranquillity. Natural materials such as Sa paper, twigs and leaves are incorporated into Waiting for the moon II. ENG Hwee Chu The holy state of matrimony Marriage is never a toy or a simple connection or ceremony where two people decide to live as a couple legally in the sight of society. Marriage is from God and of God whereby it is a blessing and his will for a man and a woman to be married and set up their own family. It is through the exchanging of the marriage vows in the presence of God that the Lord will bless them and the fruits they bear from their marriage. And the blessing of the Lord will be with them through generation. This painting .. . [reveals) the desire and hope of a woman to take up the course of nature/life where one should have a holy matrimony and bear children according to God's wi II. Black moon 14 This is a depiction of a woman on the edge of tradition and modernisation. The wave of science advancement and materialism hits strongly against the retention wall of tradition values and weakens it. Women today have stopped to look. Shall we break the cord of tradition or shall we stand firm for it? The scenes of walking out of the kitchen and the fight for equality between the sexes continually flash through their minds. Francesca ENRIQUEZ My work involves returning to 'lessons' from the past in order to avoid merely reacting to each new wave of artforms. I reject the notion that painting is dead and primarily wish to develop painting -I am also sick and tired of all that purity. I mean to free art from merely being a visual object-from the retinal. I also wish it to become extra-visual and at the same time idea-oriented. I am currently working on a series of expressionist paintings on the theme interiors-sofas, latches, lampshades, dining rooms etc. are just some of the images found in my work. The works are an inquiry focused on the house, and the interior places as a well as its outdoor context. My works explore the recesses of the psyche, all in all my perceptions of houses and their parts shape my thoughts, memories and dreams. Mark 0. JUSTINIANI The evolution of the Filipino has always been contained and recorded in the changing fashions of the jeepney. Since these surplus army vehicles were left by the Americans after the Second World War, it has undergone several revisions to become the most popular means of public transport throughout The Philippines. The jeepney's basic shape is still recognisable, but the adornments covering it have varied through the decades. Today it reflects the typical attitude and psyche of the average nineties Filipino. Pinoy [Filipino] postmodern without the modernist baggage. This is where unrelated text and image consent to stick together in chaotic harmony, But look closely: everything, from the romantic, the religious, theviolentlymacho, to the Hollywoodish, tells a story. It does say a lot about the prevalence of colonial mentality, a state that never left our shores since the Spanish conquistadores arrived in the 16th century. The jeepney is a blazing chariot of fantasies. Kamin LERTCHAIPRASERT 'Problem' in my opinion, is something whose cause we do not understand, thus [we] do not know how to control the situation. And that causes suffering, both physically and mentally. I believe problems can be solved by wisdom, and that process has to start in one's own mind first. Ifyou succeed in that, the social problems will be equally improved. But if we just solve the external problem without looking back into our own mind, I think it is just temporary problem-solving and may even cause more complicated troubles. 'Wisdom' in my opinion, means insight into the elements of truth. Wisdom rises from right and reasonable thinking. To obtain wisdom, we should have good purpose and the right way. Good purpose intends to exterminate passion and to be of benefit to all human beings. The right way should be on the path of moral so it does not cause problems to ourselves and to others. MAI AnhDOng Champa was a powerful kingdom in southern Vietnam with a splendid cultural foundation, the magnificent palaces bearing religious colours (having received influence from Indian religion). Although this was the case, today the kingdom of Champa has disappeared and the Cham have become an ethnic minority. Sanctuaries and shrines only remain in vestiges, their secrecy contained in moss coverings. Although this is the case, stories based on oral tradition about deities and genies remain forever in the hearts and minds of the Cham just as stone sculptures which still exist although having been eroded due to the passage of time. Nalini MALANI The stain is a mark of menstruation connoting the female body. The Mutants emerge from stains made with fabric dye on milk carton paper. The idea of permanence and impermanence is inherent when I juxtapose the stained mark of the Mutant next to an imprint of the female body on the wall. The wall support is the receptacle that receives the imprint. The Woman's body on the wall is the site that records history, . ecological devastation, gender biases. The body site has erasure and death as its implicit text. There is an incantatory ritual in the manufacture of the body and in the destroying of it. This connects to much of Womens' work which is impermanent and transitory. No trace remains except in memory. The body site is wiped clean and I move on to the next wall with my Mutants, whom I wish to protect. The milk carton paper may or may not provide the nurturing. They are vulnerable to the vicissitudes of politics, economics and radio-active fall-outs. Mrinalini MUKHERJEE The nature of my material, hemp is such that it conjures many images: the body, clothing, adornment, flora and fauna. My material creates an obtrusive physicality yet the logic of the nature of that physicality is make– believe. As a charade is enacted I find myself fulfilling a childhood dream for a wonderland of transposed codes while simultaneously commanding my own rules of the game. I enjoy working with a sense of inside and outside, masculine and feminine, figure and flower, folding in on one another, allowing my sculptures to grow of their own accord ... I believe in an integrated approach to art and craft, and enjoy working with the specific nature of my medium, weaving and knotting, in order to create a sensuous and monumental object that occupies a space larger than itself. My sculptures are made up of thousands of knots that are inextricably linked to one another, reflecting the measured, repetitive and lengthy process that is entailed in their creation. The thread is married to the form. I aim to transform my medium beyond its specific associations within India (for example with charpais– string cots, and onion bags), to a contemporary manifestation of presence. I feel compelled to create an art form that exists in contradistinction to my everyday environment, which is necessarily fragmented and multifarious. Fauzan OMAR The flower is nature['s] most perfect gift to us. We endeavour to capture its beauty, transforming it into a symbol and a carrier of human sentiment. Pleasing, fragile, sensuous, mysterious, vibrant, vivid, soft, aromatic, flowers are different symbols in different beliefs, cultures, and customs.For every culture which seeks to understand their meaning and display their immutable beauty, flowers provide the spiritual comprehension of natural perfection. In fact human life itself can be symbolised by or interpreted in terms of the flowers. When we are at the peak of our lives, we are in 'full bloom'. But the basic function of the flower is to produce seed and so perpetuate its species. Within a matter of days, weeks or months, flowers bloom, wilt and die. This process of budding, blooming and decaying signifies the birth, growth and death in the cycle of life. Chatchai PUIPIA The 'Siamese Smile' is an ancient kind of smile in the 'mai pen rai' -Never mind, It's Ok etc. family. Its origin is not known but it can be found running wild around the country, especially at social events such as art exhibition openings.