The Ninth Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

135 ARTISTS Flow (production stills) 2018 Stop-motion animation, colour, sound / Courtesy: The artist Born 1983, Ban Kokxay, Laos Lives and works in Ban Kokxay Souliya Phoumivong lives in a village called Ban Kokxay, among agricultural fields and wetlands, in an area where ancient Buddhist relics and mounds now lie overgrown, abandoned centuries ago. Ban Kokxay is a small community perched on the Mekong, a long distance from the nearest highway. Behind Phoumivong’s house, his unassuming studio is an intriguing world of storytelling that opens a window onto life in Laos. Phoumivong is one of the few artists in Laos to develop a media-based practice. He trained as a painter at a time when few other contemporary practices existed beyond painting and weaving. Demand from tourists in the riverside markets of Vientiane, along with a small number of galleries in the centre of the city, primarily fuelled the art industry, while experimental practices occurred only in back rooms, largely out of view. Phoumivong developed an interest in photography, and during a residency in Tokyo in 2010, he learnt basic animation techniques. This led to a dramatic shift in his practice, and he returned to Laos with a desire to develop ways of working that were seldom seen there, finding a new means to communicate about Lao life with communities throughout the country. In 2012, Phoumivong established the Clay House Studio at his home, and after developing his first few works, he was commissioned by UNICEF to create an animated television show, which became the first ever Lao television show for young children. The show led to successive series, and the artist caught the attention of other charities and non-government organisations, while also realising the enormous educational and communicative role of the medium. Phoumivong’s animation studio is now a sophisticated production hub, where he, his students and assistants gather to create hundreds of small characters, who perform in tiny landscape sets, dwarfed by cameras and lighting. From a location far removed from an art centre, Phoumivong has changed art production in Laos, while becoming committed to the education of a younger generation of artists and media professionals. Beyond handmade animations, Phoumivong continues to work in video and installation to explore life in Laos. He focuses on individuals and experiences, as well as some of the broader issues and anxieties that affect the country, particularly its younger generations, as society changes with new technologies, modes of communication and urban development. Flow 2018 reflects a society in flux, addressing how new modes of communication and technologies are affecting the country. The film retains an accessible, local aesthetic through its handmade clay modelling, the playful rhythm of stop-motion, and easily relatable characters. In the film, a human character watches as a herd of animated buffalo unthinkingly follow each other. Compelled to follow the group and blend in, the protagonist finds a buffalo mask and joins the throng. Initially drawn by curiosity, he later questions his decision, but is soon driven to comply out of fear of disrupting the herd. A suggestive metaphor for the unquestioning conformity Phoumivong has noticed in his country, the animation allegorises the failure of individuals to find their own creative and moral paths amid new technology and social media. The protagonist is gradually transformed into the shape of a buffalo, fully incorporated into the group, while another human character appears on the edge of the field. Confronted with the same dilemma — of whether to follow one’s own path or conform to the dynamics of the collective — he also gravitates towards them, unable to break away from the herd, as the monotonous rhythm of the mass flows on. Tarun Nagesh Souliya Phoumivong