Thailand Biennale: Edge of the Wonderland by Jiehong Jiang

This research resulted in Thailand’s first biennale. Based on preliminary research and workshops undertaken and organised between Birmingham and Bangkok in 2016, the researcher was invited by the Ministry of Culture to lead on the curation of the inaugural Thailand Biennale, a multi-million-pound landmark project, and one of the most important art events in Asia. Edge of the Wonderland provided a curatorial framework which inspired artistic reflections and interpretations of different cultural understandings of the link between reality and fiction, the existent and the imagined, the material and the spiritual, the experienced and the unworldly, and ultimately, the known and the unknown. Challenging conventional art exhibition spaces and the accepted formats of existing of art biennales, the researcher led a team of eight curatorial assistants, commissioned new site-specific works worldwide, and installed them on outdoor natural sites in Krabi. This unique platform stimulated and produced new artistic strategies in responds to increasing conflicts between the global and the local, the artistic and the natural, and between site-specificity and sustainability. The Biennale interrogated the distance between art and everyday life and allowed more than 2 million visitors to ‘encounter’ art. A rigorous process was implemented to select artists internationally. Following three-months of research, the curatorial team visited Krabi and numerous artist studios, and conducted artist-curator workshops in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Oslo, to initiate artwork proposals. Approximately 100 potential artists were invited to join the site visits in separate trips to Krabi in 2017 and to discuss their proposals with curators, Thailand Biennale Committee Members and International Advisors, as well as local communities in order to further develop their proposals for review. More than sixty-five artists from twenty-five countries were chosen for participation.

INTRODUCTION

This research resulted in Thailand’s first biennale, produced by the Office of Contemporary Arts and Culture (OCAC), the Thailand Ministry of Culture, from 2 November 2018 to 18 February 2019. This inaugural Thailand Biennale, was a breakthrough for the contemporary art world in the country and one of the most important art events in Asia. The biennale was staged completely outdoors, with no walls or ceilings and on natural sites in Krabi. This multi-million-pound landmark project interrogated the distance between art and everyday life allowing more than 2 million visitors to ‘encounter’ art.

SITE-SPECIFICITY

COLLABORATION

THE WONDERLAND

PUBLICATION

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SITE-SPECIFICITY

Unlike conventional museum-based biennials, this First Thailand Biennale was created as one of largest outdoor exhibitions globally. It is a cutting-edge exploration driven by curatorial and artistic practices, which take a proactive attitude and a practical approach to imitate, reinterpret and extend reality. This unique platform engendered a new way of thinking, and produced new artistic strategies responding to increasing conflicts between the global and the local, the artistic and the natural, and between site-specificity and sustainability.

Felix BLUME, Rumours from the Sea, 2018, Bamboo, flutes (khlui) and various building materials, dimensions variable.

Aram BARTHOLL, The Perfect Beach, 2018, two performers, aluminium frames, 250 x 440 cm

Ayse ERKMEN, PD/MGRTT, 2018, site-specific installation, billboards

YANG Zhenzhong, To be or not to be, 2018, 10 trees, dimensions variable

A K DOLVEN, did you leave your island, island, 2018, wooden house, solar-powered sound system, voices

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COLLABORATION

The site visits to Krabi were conducted not only for proposing artwork and projects in situ, and generating artist-curator discussions, but also for bridging the gap between a biennale and local communities whilst negotiating with the policies and regulations of the authorities. This biennale was only made possible through substantial collaborations with a variety of contributors in Krabi, including, local architects (Dolven), craftsman (Streitmatter-Tran), school children (Blume), folk musician (Wrånes), fisherman (Winderen), sea gypsies (Map office), gardeners (Zheng), farmers and villagers (Karga).

Jana WINDEREN, Through the bones, 2018
copyright holder: Courtesy the artist

The Map Office, Ghost Island, 2018, bamboo, fishing net, additional materials, dimensions variable

Valentina KARGA, Coming Community, 2018, various construction materials, dimensions variable

Richard STREITMATTER-TRAN & Visarnsak SAVANGKAEW, Anima, 2018, unfired clay, coconut fibre, cement, iron rod, dimensions variable

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THE WONDERLAND

Different versions of a ‘wonderland’ derive from different cultures. In the West, we have learnt the renowned English story of Alice’s adventures. In South Asia, the legendary Himmapan Forests are believed to be the home of many supernatural beings, which form recurrent motifs in Thailand’s traditional art and classical literature. The ‘wonderland’ connects to our everyday reality, and yet it is somehow hidden and can only be visited through imaginary journeys and dreams. It provided a curatorial framework, which inspired artistic reflections and interpretations of different cultural understandings of the link between reality and fiction, the existent and the imagined, the material and the spiritual, the experienced and the unworldly, and ultimately, the known and the unknown.

Yuree KENSAKU, Nagabi Transferry, 2018, collage and paint on canvas roof, stainless frame roof and Naga fibreglass head on Hua Thong wooden boat, 227 cm x 1080 cm x 340 cm

Tori WRÅNES, Naam Yai, 2018, performance

TU Wei-Cheng, Giant Ruins, 2018, mixed media, dimensions variable

Kamin LERTCHAIPRASERT & Suriya UMPANSIRIRATANA, No Sunrise No Sunset, 2018, fibreglass, aluminium composite panel steel tubes and concrete

Rikuo UEDA, Letter, 2018, wood, stone, metal and paper, 140 × 190 × 220 cm

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PUBLICATION

A 344-page Exhibition Catalogue, The First Thailand Biennale: Edge of the Wonderland (Bangkok: the Office of Contemporary Arts and Culture, the Ministry of Culture), and a 172-page Exhibition Guide was edited by Jiang and published bilingually in English and Thai for an international audience and visitors.

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