- Venue
- South Hill Park Arts Centre
- Location
- South East England
Jam: Cultural Congestions in Contemporary Asian Art at South Hill Park poses a question to the audience: does the viewer feel overwhelmed by the Jam; as there is so much art, so many exhibitions and so many events? Or does the congestion enable pausing and reflection of the richness and diversity across cultures? Jam: Cultural Congestion's in Contemporary Asian Art aims to explore and construct a visual Jam, a think tank and space created by cultural congestion.
The initial feeling when walking into the Mirror Gallery at South Hill Park is not of a Jam but of intrigue. The eye is immediately drawn to the dark crouched figure in front of the window. Resting on its own, Emma Kwan's Hope creates a sense of isolation and the viewer is left to question its identity: is the figure a man, a woman or something mystical? As Hope is black it seems to contradict its title as the darkness gives the impression of death or a sense of loss. The artist suggests that this sculpture is a self-portrait, Kwan is ‘hybrid' (p3 exhibition leaflet): ‘bred from two distinct races' (Dictionary.com), she is neither British nor Chinese.
Next to Hope, hangs Ming Turner's Mound (Ink and paint on paper), the artworks support each other; they are both suggestive of suffering or loss. The skulls, cockroaches and dark colours of Mound create an eerie impression; while the bright light is suggestive of a new beginning; Turner is ‘Inspired by the ancient Oriental materials.' (p13 exhibition leaflet).
Turning around from Mound and hanging above an old fire-place the viewer is faced with Madi Acharya-Baskerville's Bad Things Happen, Good Things Were Taken Away. At first glance the piece hangs like a relic above the space where a fireplace used to be, but moving closer the viewer realises how sinister these objects are.
The title of the work does nothing to reassure the viewer: Bad Things Happen, Good Things Were Taken Away. In contrast to the other pieces in the gallery the artist makes ‘reference to childhood memories,' (p7 exhibition leaflet) all the broken paraphernalia suggests a broken upbringing, a broken set of memories. Psychologically our brains break up traumatic memories which are often ‘punctured by holes and absences' (Fredrickson 2003 p38).This parallels how the artist has constructed the sculptures: broken toys and parts of objects. The brain has ‘absences' in memory after a trauma in order for the mind to deal with what has happened. Acharya-Baskerville is highlighting the ‘feelings of loss and uncertainty, associated with leaving behind one's host culture' (p7 exhibition leaflet).
While discarded toys create a sense of loss and abandonment in the Mirror Gallery, the Atrium has an altogether different feel: the beauty and colour of Meng-Hung (Sam) Su's Dissortion of Prosperity Abound (Yellow) are incredibly striking; thus creating a Jam of the senses. The bright, bold and beautiful colours of the work create an interesting parallel to Meng-Hung Su's message. The beauty of the work is part of his argument: ‘they appear to be rich, beautiful and extravagant' (p8 exhibition leaflet), but the artist is arguing that this ‘reveals the inherent absurdity, reinterpreting the expressive art forms the public finds easiest to accept' (p8 exhibition leaflet).
Together with Meng-Hung (Sam) Su's canvas I-Ting Hou has a more menacing feel; in Usurper of Mari 3, the disjointed faces are ‘the Kyara (representative fictional characters) of manga and anime. Not characters (irreplaceable) but Kyara (replaceable)' (p6 exhibition leaflet). Hou places her self-portraits over the top of Andy Warhol's famous Marilyn's; therefore portraying herself against western ideas of stardom and fame.
Walking back through the galleries and into the Community Gallery, Emma Kwan's Commitment 1-10, is seen. Kwan has used both Chinese and English verse in the work: ‘Having lived in the east and the west… she is neither fully British nor Chinese, Kwan observes the fact that many daily chores in our daily lives overlap' (p3 exhibition leaflet). Whether we live in the East or the West Kwan makes the point that our daily lives are similar: with chores that have to be completed and emotionally we feel the same love and loss wherever we live. ‘The blood through my skin has no effect it is my heart that is in pain' (taken from Commitment 6).
Furthermore Pei-Shih Tu, in Derealizations appears to be highlighting similarities between the East and West. The ‘labour intensive process of hand collage and are visually hi-saccharine in appearance' (p11 exhibition leaflet) shows characters surrounded by food. In Derealizations I the image of an overweight man suggests Tu is commenting on obesity; as the character is surrounded by cartons, the look of dissatisfaction on the man's face suggests the affects of eating high calorie foods. Tu ‘explores the links between fantasy and menace in contemporary human conditions' (p11 exhibition leaflet).
Moving onto the Bracknell Gallery the idea of Jam can be seen in the range of media which have been utilized. Hua Kuan Sai's Drawing Space to Home installation of ropes breaks up the space and forces the viewer to navigate through; it aims to ‘challenge the language of architecture, line and sculpture placement, but also transforms his nostalgia into physical and tangible existence' (p5 exhibitions leaflet).
Migration patterns from the London census have been used in the work of Bindu Mehra & Himanshu Desai in Insabbiati. Panels of polycarbonate are used to hold rice representing the levels of migration from each borough in London on a graph. Interestingly the piece creates a parallel with Asia as the polycarbonate sheets are used as a building material in the construction of houses, and the rice is symbolic of food; going back to basics food and shelter, ‘depicting two basic catalysts of migration' (p2 exhibition leaflet).
The music that accompanies the work is created by feeding the statistics of the last greater London census from 2001 into music generation software, ‘the electronically generated structure of the musical score therefore is a direct musical audio replica of the migration patterns in each of London borough's' (p2 exhibition leaflet).
Across the gallery space Tsai-Wei Chens The Inter-Soundscapes presents two maps: one of London and the other of Taipei. Sitting in front of the London map listening to the recording, the artist has recorded a refuse collecting van In London; which for the artist highlights an East/West difference ‘the refuse-collecting van in Taipei has music. But over here the refuse collecting van has only the machine sounds Mmmmm…. Hmmmmm' (Taken from Tsai-Wei Chens postcard).
Whilst reflecting on the London map it becomes clear there is very little detail in it; there are only street lines and the outline of the Thames and other lakes in the city. Furthermore whilst seated in front of the Taipei map there are not even street markings. This suggests the size of Taipei in comparison to London.
The projections and their sounds can be quite disturbing, especially listening to Pei-Shih Tu, Another Beautiful Day. The projection begins with an image of cartoons in a garden, with trees and flowers and all is bright and happy. Then the scene quickly changes as the figures get bombed and the background colour turns to a blood red colour. The projection is obviously political because after the characters have been bombed and the pleasant world destroyed there is a scene of despair: no trees only desert with flags flying in the distance: British, French, German, Russian etc. Then the sounds of disease begin; flies and scenes of destruction, gun shots as the figures attempt to fight back. Although this is a cartoon it is hard-hitting: Pei Shih Tu ‘explores the links between fantasy and menace in contemporary human conditions' (p11 exhibition leaflet).
A sense of Jam is felt in the projection that follows Another Beautiful Day, Feng Ru Lee's Sheep Wee, is shown: nine minutes of a character dressed up as a sheep suggesting they are having a ‘Wee.' Then in another twist the next projection that follows is a real show of beauty and courage. Wang Ruobing's The Peoples Park is a video taken from the peoples park in the city of Chengdu. The film shows an ordinary day in the park; people playing sport or being with family, the viewer may not be aware that the city suffered a horrendous earthquake: ‘On May 12th, 2008, an 8.0 magnitude earthquake in China's south-western Sichuan province has killed more than 60,000 people' (http://tsinghuafoundation.org/earthquake08/index.php). Ruobing is showing how the Chinese people have bravely managed to continue their lives after such a catastrophe.
Does the exhibition have to physically be jammed to overwhelm and intrigue the viewer? The physical manifestation you don't experience, but the sensory experience; multimedia: sound, projections and installations the viewer will not know what to look at first. Curated by Outi Remes Madi Acharya-Baskerville and Yi-Fang Chen the exhibition has successfully managed to combine several different themes around the issue of Jam.
Fredrickson, L (2003) Memory and projection, Art Criticism, Vol 18, No.2 p36-64
