June Yap, curator of ‘No Country: Contemporary Art in South and Southeast Asia’ on choosing works of art, contemporary Vietnamese art and the meaning of Asia.
& Of Other Things asked curator June Yap about the Guggenheim exhibition she guest curated, currently showing in Singapore after having shown in New York for four months. ‘No Country: Contemporary Art in South and Southeast Asia’ is the first part of a series that will span a few years and feature contemporary art from three diverse regions of the world. The series explores the significance of boundaries, belonging and home – both in terms on nation and culture. It will showcase contemporary art from regions which have formerly been colonised, have seen kingdoms come and go and each face a unique struggle to form a national and cultural identity. South and Southeast Asia will be followed by Latin America and the Middle East and North Africa will conclude the series.
June Yap, who hails from Singapore herself, travelled the region for three months, meeting artists and getting a sense of the countries’ art scenes prior to selecting the featured works.
● Interview by Fabiola Buchele ● Edited by Rose Arnold
&: What intrigues and excites you about the Southeast Asian art world and its artists?
June Yap: Southeast Asia has wonderful artists, and is brimming with ideas and visual expressions that these artists so aptly develop. There is a tremendous potential and energy, not to mention diversity of art, that you cannot help but be infected by.
&: We are particularly interested in the Vietnamese artists featured. Why did the ones you chose make the pick and what is your personal view on contemporary art made by Vietnamese artists?
June Yap: Vietnam has a rich cultural and aesthetic history, to which Vietnamese artists respond and challenge with invigorating results. Frankly, there are so many artists that have practices and artworks that deserve attention. In the selection process for this exhibition a few key practices are highlighted, but they also point to the other practices within Vietnam and that was important – that they open, rather than close off, the dialogue of art within and of Vietnam. The write-ups of these artworks, describe the significance and thus selection. There is however much more we can learn from these and other artists of Vietnam, and I hope that we continue to have the opportunity to do so.
(Links to the artworks by Vietnamese artists in the exhibition: Trương Tân, Trần Lương, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, The Propeller Group)
&: One of your online interviews features photos you took of rock band GỗLim performing at Hanoi Rock City. Did visiting establishments like these and seeing underground bands in any way inform your understanding of contemporary art in Vietnam and your subsequent selection of works from here?
Contemporary art is not isolated from the other aspects of life. It is part of life, part of the relations that produce the present…
June Yap: It was a great privilege for me to watch GỗLim perform and meet them while I was there. It did not influence the selection, though contemporary art is not isolated from the other aspects of life. It is part of life, part of the relations that produce the present, and the contextual understanding of these realities contributes to the observation of the art of the contemporary. Like the artworks, the early interview that features the photo of the band, exemplifies the specificities of the city, and Vietnam at large, that makes it so vital and exciting.
&: How do the common concept of what is ‘Asia’ in art differ from the reality of what is happening in Southeast Asia’s contemporary art scene?
The increasing visibility of Southeast Asian art definitely allows for a more complex comprehension and appreciation, and nuances what may be assumptions of ‘Asian’ art.
June Yap: The idea of what is ‘Asian’ is ambiguous even for us within the region. The curatorial thesis was intended to bring that to the fore, and artists themselves are deeply engaged in this process of representation. Sometimes the realities of the region are even unfamiliar to us from the region, and there remains much that we still have to understand of each other. The increasing visibility of Southeast Asian art definitely allows for a more complex comprehension and appreciation, and nuances what may be assumptions of ‘Asian’ art.
&: Has the audience reactions been different in New York and in Singapore? If so how?
June Yap: That the artists may have been less familiar to a New York audience, than back here within the region, was to be expected. But it is the encounter with the artwork from the context of one’s own particular knowledge and experience that is most important. The artworks by the Vietnamese artists have been well received, even if with different levels of insight to their subject-matter and form. The artworks were selected for their compelling effect, and to contribute to greater understanding regardless of the location of its presentation.
How can real and imagined boundaries and the idea of nation both stifle and inspire art?
June Yap: We navigate the ideas of our identity in relation to one another on a daily basis. What art can do is to provide a moment for much needed reflection and discussion.
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No Country: Contemporary Art in South and Southeast Asia will be at the CCA in Singapore from May 13-July 20 and also includes artists and collectives from Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and the United Kingdom, and presents works of an array of media, spanning from sculpture and photography to painting and video installations. No Country: Contemporary Art for South and Southeast Asia has been organised by the Centre for Contemporary Art, Singapore, in collaboration with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York, and is a cultural engagement of UBS.
