The First T-SEAsia Triennial : Durian Durian 01.12.2020 - 2023
Credit: Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts
“Trans-Southeast Asia (T-SEAsia)” is a collective that encompasses all the eleven Southeast Asian countries, as well as regions of East and South Asia, including Southern China, that border on the former. These countries and regions, which sit amongst the tropical and sub-tropical peninsulas and archipelagos that sprinkle the southeast areas of Asia in the north hemisphere, are knit closely together now and before.
More than the toned-down geographical boundary, “trans” as a concept inclines towards expanding art and knowledge production and opening up the curatorial process in response to the vibrancy in the art scene in this region. This dynamic process will decentralize the power structure of exhibitions for co-ownership among a variety of curators, artists, art projects and researchers, leading to a series of research programs, exhibitions and publications. During the process of the Triennial, participants work together, just like the ancient populace who dwell afloat and co-live with the tides in this areas, to navigate the world of uncertainty and explore the wisdom to co-habit with it.
Trans-Southeast Asia Triennial starts from the close geographical kinship between Guangdong and Southeast Asia. Guangzhou opened its port more than 2000 years ago. Both in retrospect and at present, it tops its Chinese siblings in the frequency and intricacy of exchanging and interacting with Southeast Asia. The Guangdong-based GAFA Art Museum commits itself to the cultural and art research spanning from the Pearl River Delta and Southern China to Southeast Asia and beyond, with the Trans-SEAsia Triennial series as a research platform. Missioned to bolster the communication in art and thinking in Trans-Southeast Asia with an open curatorial perspective and new art museum practice, this triennial shall support cultural self-knowledge, understanding and innovation within the region via unconventional exhibitions, discussions, archive building, publication and other public programs. It takes the situation of Trans-Southeast Asia being hemmed in by various blocs of power as the point of departure to reflect on its art practice that also situates along multiple marginalized discourses to unravel the multiple perspectives and narratives of contemporary art making in this area.
Installation View: “I want to bring you around the world”
