The Ninth Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

233 APT9 KIDS TUNGARU: THE KIRIBATI PROJECT Established 2012 Jeff Smith Born 1962, Lower Hutt, Aotearoa New Zealand Lives and works in Auckland, Aotearoa, New Zealand Mauri 2018 In 2012, Jeff Smith and fellow New Zealand artist Chris Charteris travelled to the Republic of Kiribati, a Pacific island nation, on a research trip for their exhibition ‘Tungaru: The Kiribati Project’ (2014). From the air, Smith filmed large, heart-shaped fish traps extending from the shore. Made of rock and coral, these traps inspired the APT9 Kids’ work Mauri . This immersive digital environment uses projectors to recreate the underwater world of a fish trap. Children can interact with schools of animated fish, which respond to visitors’ movements, and, by working together, they can gather them into the trap projected onto the gallery floor. The project reflects on the importance of community and emphasises the significant issues of climate change and sustainability currently affecting Kiribati and the wider world. Jakkai Siributr Born 1969, Bangkok, Thailand Lives and works in Bangkok The Legend of the Rainbow Stag 2018 As a young boy, Jakkai Siributr’s mother would read him stories based on the Jataka Tales — sacred Buddhist writings — to teach him about compassion, kindness and tolerance. His mother, Saisingh Siributr, was a well-known children’s television and radio presenter and a storyteller in the 1960s and 1970s. Her passion for children’s literature has inspired Siributr to share one of his mother's stories, The Rainbow Stag , which is brought to life in an animation narrated by the artist and featuring his version of this magnificent animal. Children can create their own personalised animation by embellishing a stag template and scanning the image. Siributr also conducted workshops with children in Thailand to illustrate and embroider scenes from the story for display in the Children’s Art Centre. This forms part of an ongoing series of Kids’ APT drawing projects begun in 2006. Top: Children’s workshop for Jakkai Siributr’s The Legend of the Rainbow Stag 2018 / Photograph: Natasha Harth Right: JEFF SMITH Indicative artwork for Mauri 2018 Digital file / Image courtesy: The artist