Comments from Our Guestbook in Bangkok, 5th Feb - 6th Mar 2010

The Earth's waters are both boundaries and pathways for peoples, objects and ideas.

Fumio Nanjo

Shoutouts - Artgazine

Shoutouts on-line in Artgazine (Click on this link)This video was shown as part of our exhibition at The Art Centre, of our one day workshop with Thai artists and art students.

The Earth's waters are both boundaries and pathways for peoples, objects and ideas.

Fumio Nanjo

Visual Representation of our Collaborative Process

The Earth's waters are both boundaries and pathways for peoples, objects and ideas.

Fumio Nanjo

Letting you know what we've been doing - Art4D

Click on the images to enlarge.

The Earth's waters are both boundaries and pathways for peoples, objects and ideas.

Fumio Nanjo

Border Crossing Workshop in Bangkok

The inaugural workshop was held at The Art Center, 7th Floor, Academic Resources, Chulalongkorn University, in Bangkok, on the first of February. Students and invited artists brought along an artwork which was selected at random to pass to another student or artist who painted or drew on top of it. It was a great success; the participants enjoyed the workshop and responded well to the challenge, and some great works were produced. All the works are documented, and all the documentation and a selection of the works will be shown in Australia in September.

Here are some photos of the workshop.

The Earth's waters are both boundaries and pathways for peoples, objects and ideas.

Fumio Nanjo

Day 11 - Thai Village Life

Lying in Wait

Good Morning, North East Thailand

Hi and sawadee,

I'm in Chaiyaphum province in rural North East Thailand arriving this morning after about a 7 hour bus ride. 

I've got questions all prepared (translated into Thai) to go and ask villages for the video I'm making for my exhibition.  The problem with being in a small place where I don't speak the same language, is that there isn't the facility to transfer my previous video from the tape to a DVD.  I'm using a friend's video camera so it's all new for me.  There is an internet cafe here which is where I'm writing this from.   So, as yet I have no video made today to show you.  I'll probably end up making the video on my camera which as a limited video facility (without zoom etc). 

In the meantime, I get to enjoy rural life for a few days.  I'm happy to see everyone again as it's been 10 months since I was here as artist in residence at Banpao Rural Art Centre.

It is extemely hot and dry here.  I notice the difference in temperature from Malaysia and it's hotter than Bangkok.

Thanks for following my posts,  I you're finding my posts entertaining.

Cheers - Largon,

Wendy

Contemporary Art from Myanmar

I went to this exhibition opening in Bangkok the night before we moved from Thailand to Penang, Malaysia. Not all the slides are wonderfully clear because of reflections on the glass and the angle of the photos, but the slideshow will give you an idea about the art work and the performances. The accompanying soundtrack is by William Orbit entitled Dark Eyed Kid. There is also a link to a new art space in Myanmar called New Zero Art Space and Thavibu Gallery. Enjoy!

The Earth's waters are both boundaries and pathways for peoples, objects and ideas.

Fumio Nanjo

Mould Making for Lost Wax Bronze Casting in Bangkok, Thailand

 

I've just returned from Bangkok, Thailand where I was making a video documenting the process of mould making for lost wax bronze casting.

Frenchman Pierre Cerviotti, mould maker demonstrated the process by making a mould of Blake's latest sculpture. Pierre, has 19 years experience as a mould maker and continues to use moulding techniques that date back to ancient Greece. Basic mould making is taught at art schools around the world but not as comprehensively, or with the precision that Pierre employs. Canadian born Blake, has been working with Pierre for many years and his sculptures are found in galleries in Europe and the Americas. Of particular interest, is Blake's devotion to raising money to clear land mines. To date he has raised $200,000 USD from the sale of his Fragments sculpture series. It was in a chance meeting at Thavibu Gallery in Bangkok, that I first met Blake in February 2009.

A few days ago we met with bronze foundry manager Thai Parinya Senadisai, whom we were introduced to by Ajarn Sanya Wong-Aram from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. In the photo (from left to right) is Pierre Cerviotti, Blake Ward, Parinya Senadisai and Wendy Grace Allen

Below are some links about lost wax casting, and Blake's sculpture:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost-wax_casting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blake_(sculptor)
http://www.blakefragments.com/
http://www.blakesculpture.com/flash_site/index-flash.html.

The Earth's waters are both boundaries and pathways for peoples, objects and ideas.

Fumio Nanjo

Bronze Casting Foundry - Thailand

In June, I visited Asia Fine Art bronze foundry in Ayutthaya, Thailand to consider working with them on future bronze artworks. I've made a short video of bronze sculptures and the foundry. You can get an idea of the bronze casting process which requires many stages and a high skill level to complete the technical process. Bronze casting also requires a lot of equipment and workshop space. I have made bronze artworks previously, completing each stage of the process in workshops where I was privileged to be taught by New Zealand artist Paul Dibble.

By the way, I have no idea who the Thai artist is (I can't read his name in Thai) whose playing the soundtrack that's accompanying the video, or what he's saying! We were in a cafe in Phuket town, heard his music playing and were reminded of Bob Dylan, so we bought the CD to remember the relaxing experience. Hope you enjoy it even if you don't understand the lyrics.

The Earth's waters are both boundaries and pathways for peoples, objects and ideas.

Fumio Nanjo

The Art of Making Khao Dom Ga Ti - Sticky Rice in Coconut Wrapped in Banana Leaves

Ingredients for Khao Dom Ga Ti - Sticky Rice in Coconut Wrapped in Banana Leaves*

• 4 cups glutinous "Sticky" Rice (khao niao)
• 1 cup sugar (nam tan)
• 400mls coconut water or coconut milk watered down (nam maprao)
• 5-10 bananas (gluay) cut length-ways and then into 5cm pieces (small bananas are better)
• 1 teaspoon salt (glua)
• peanuts (tua din) (optional)
• banana leaves (bai dtaawng)(pre-cut into pieces 25cm (L) x 14cm (W)(baking paper may work instead of banana leaves but I haven't tried it)

*the amount for each ingredients is variable according to taste and how many &lqt;parcels&rqt; you want to make. Makes about 40 parcels. Yai (Grandmother) showed me how to make this recipe. Your banana leaf parcels may not look neat and tidy to begin with but practice makes perfect. 1. Cook the rice by first washing the rice and then soaking it for 1 hour or overnight. Cook in a steamer with the salt and peanuts for about 20 minutes. 2. Boil the coconut water rapidly for 10 minutes, then add the sugar 3. When the rice is cooked stir into coconut water until thoroughly combined taking care not to let it burn on the bottom of the pan. 4. Put a dessert spoonful of rice length-ways in a banana leaf. Place a slice of banana on top of the rice then put another spoonful of rice on top of the banana. 5. Wrap by rolling tightly length-ways and then folding over and tucking under the ends of the banana leaf. It's important to pack the rice tightly in the parcel (it takes a little practice). The finished size of the parcel should be about 10cm long x 4cm wide. 6. Place parcels in a steamer for 10 minutes. Enjoy hot or cold.
Yummy - Saab Lai

The Earth's waters are both boundaries and pathways for peoples, objects and ideas.

Fumio Nanjo

About Banpao - Thai Esaan Village Life

Wendy Grace Allen was invited by Director Dr Apichart Pholprasert to be Artist in Residence for 3 months 2008-2009 at Banpao Rural Art Centre. Below is an excerpt relating to Banpao village from Dr Pholprasert's doctoral thesis on rural nostalgia in art.

Banpao is situated in the Kasetsombun District, Chaiyaphum Province. The first settlement of Banpao community is believed to have been during the Ayudhaya period (1350-1767), (Religion Department of Thai Government, 1982)¹. Two important characteristics must immediately be discussed: Banpao is agricultural and Buddhist. Most accounts of the history of Thailand stress the centrality of a way of rural life that has developed in relation to the practice of Theravada Buddhism². In a Thai village, Buddhism combines the requirement of liberating the mind from human delusion with the necessity of living in harmony with nature. In the same way that the agricultural environment is seen to be the product of generations of labour, it is also clear that a single life span is not enough time to achieve true liberation. The Buddhist concept of reincarnation has a strong environmental resonance for villagers. It is easy for a Thai farmer to understand that he must strive to achieve ‘merit’ (in Thai, called Boon) in the present in order to contribute to a shared, accumulating ‘good’. Agricultural people can relate to the idea of environmental and spiritual inheritance in the same terms.The next section will illustrate and describe the village ceremonies that have evolved over centuries in support of the agricultural/spiritual well-being of the community. These are continued even though the traditional way of life is changing.

In the context of this thesis, the retention of ritual within an increasingly nontraditional social context could be seen as an example of therapeutic nostalgia provoked by an increasingly uncertain national identity. The next section will illustrate and describe the village ceremonies that have evolved over centuries in support of the agricultural/spiritual well-being of the community. These are continued even though the traditional way of life is changing.

Disruptions

There are two recent transformations to the agricultural aspects of Banpao life that need to be discussed before proceeding further: 1) the introduction of ‘iron buffalo’ tractors to replace the animals that drew ploughs and carts and 2) the influx of Chinese middlemen who buy and sell rice and offer loans to farmers to help them mechanise their work (Walker, 1992: 77).

When I recall Banpao before the advent of tractors and rice merchants I do not find it difficult to link the way of life to the most ancient traditions. The families amongst whom I grew up farmed only enough land to provide for their needs. Apart from rice they grew fruit and vegetables, which were shared out within their extended family and amongst neighbours. Pigs, ducks and chicken were kept for meat. In addition, fish were readily available in local ponds and flooded paddy fields.

There is a well-known verse that describes the wealth of food resources in rural Thailand: ‘Nai Nam Mee Pla Nai Na Me Kaow’ (In the river, there is fish, in the field,there is rice). Banpao farmers never lacked food. The richness of natural resources has been one of the main characteristics of Banpao village. Rice and fish are not only the most common meal for farmers, they have become a symbol of ‘food’ itself. This can be noticed from the villagers’ friendly greetings when they walk pass each other: “Have you had rice yet?” or “What do you have with your rice today?” The spontaneous answer is “I have rice with fish”; no matter what they had for a meal that day.

In recent years the government has encouraged farmers to increase rice production. There have been nationwide missions to encourage the adoption of modern technology and chemical fertilisers and countless local schemes to improve irrigation systems. As a result, Thailand has become one of the biggest exporters of rice in the world and, whilst remaining a land of farmers (about sixty per cent of a population of sixty-three million (Poonyarat, 2003: 8A), has transformed a traditional way of life into a very competitive agricultural industry focused on international markets.

The use of machinery in farming

With this change of status, the religious and cultural importance of rice has also undergone modification. The festivals that blessed each stage of the rice-growing process were once an entirely local matter, a common sight in villages across the land. Now there is an all encompassing Royal Ploughing Ceremony that is televised nationwide to mark the beginning of the rice-growing season. Just as the ancient balance between productivity and conservation was once marked by countless small ceremonies that celebrated the spiritual strength of each village community:now the commercial production of rice generates this lavish TV spectacle that is said to promote the spiritual strength of the entire population (Chadchaidee, 1994). This correlation of village and national identity has some resonance in my later discussion of rural themes in contemporary Thai painting. For example, the many farming rituals that offer thanks to Mae Posop (the Rice Mother) have been popularised in tourist-oriented imagery that apparently represents Thailand both to itself and to the outside world. As we shall see, Bangkok artists (nearly always with rural upbringings) have been in good part responsible for this transformation.

Above all else, it is the impact of returning migrant workers that has changed the fabric of village life. Those who have lived and worked in cities import urban values to the midst of farming communities. Rural families now expect to own television sets and stereo equipment and use electronic public address systems within traditional ceremonies (Walker, 1992: 77). Alongside this trend, the government has also sought to update rural society through initiatives that have encouraged the spread of digital telecommunication technology throughout rural areas.

Extract from Dr Apichart Pholprasert's doctoral thesis on rural nostalgia in art.

1. The age of the village has been estimated using archaeological evidence from the village’s main temple.

2. As Buddhism expanded across Asia from its origins in India, it evolved into two main forms: Theravada and Mahayana. Theravada is the original form of Buddhism. (Robinson, B.A. “Buddhism” http://www.religioustolerance.org/buddhism.htm [access 10 May 2005]). See also, Gillett, R.(2001) The Essence of Buddhism. London: Caxton Publishing Group.

The Earth's waters are both boundaries and pathways for peoples, objects and ideas.

Fumio Nanjo

Border Crossing Workshops

At each venue, the Border Crossing artists will conduct a workshop where invited artists and art students bring along one original painting and one fine art reproduction of that painting on canvas. The artists will then swap their canvas prints and respond to the other artists work by painting on top of the artists canvas print. The workshops could be held over a day or a weekend. The original painting and the finished collaborative artworks will be displayed side-by-side in a gallery as an extension of the Border Crossing project. At the completion of the exhibition, in the event that the work hasn't sold, the participating artists will then be returned their original painting and the fine art reproduction that they brought to the workshop. The collaborative process will be documented by a film maker and photographer. The workshop participants will be encouraged to record their responses to the project on video, and via the The Border Crossing Art Project blog. The workshops aim to strengthen cross cultural relationships, reinforce collaborative learning experiences for all artists and in particular for art students. Artists participating in the project have the opportunity to learn new skills from each other whilst the process of collaboration encourages mutual respect, peace and understanding. Additional art performances could be included during the process of the workshop.

Projected output of the project

The Wendy Grace Allen, Dr Apichart Pholprasert and Helen Stacey will produce fifteen finished paintings including three paintings (each painting approximately 166 cm x 104 cm) by only one artist and twelve collaborative paintings (each painting =A0 – 1189 cm x 841 cm). The documentation for Border Crossing will be in artists book form. Part of the project is to deliver art workshops to accompany the exhibitions in New Zealand, Australia, Thailand and Singapore. In addition, there will be floor talks by the artists describing the project and discussing topics relating to art in the Asia Pacific region. An interactive blog (website) and group/page on Facebook social network site have been created to support the project by encouraging cross cultural communication via regular on-going dialogue with an global audience.

Target audience for the project

Border Crossing is to be exhibited in Bangkok, Thailand, Palmerston North, New Zealand, Adelaide, Australia and Singapore. The target audience includes professional artists, art collectors, art supporters, museum curators and art students. In addition the interactive blog at http://thebordercrossingartproject.blogspot.com/ and The Border Crossing Art Project page on Facebook provides a platform for dialogue with a diverse global audience. At each exhibition a computer will be set up connecting to the blog site so audiences can comment on the project in real time, enabling immediate and on going interaction with the artists.

The Earth's waters are both boundaries and pathways for peoples, objects and ideas.

Fumio Nanjo

Favourite Thai Esaan (Nth East) Food

Have you tried spicy Som Dum? It's a Lao style salad and a staple food in the Esaan (also spelt Esarn, Isaan, Isan in English) (meaning Lao) area of North East Thailand. It's made from fresh green papaya (green mango, or cucumber), with cherry tomatoes, lime, fish sauce, sometimes peanuts, carrot, tiny shrimps or crab and always with chilli (Prik)!!! Every day I hear the sound of "pok pok" the nick name for Som Dum as women make Som Dum by pounding it with a pestle inside a morter. There's even a movie by the same name. In the movie a farang (foreigner) eats Som Dum and it makes him so crazy that he demolishes the restaurant. He later uses his extraordinary strength from eating Som Dum to beat up the baddies. Try it to see if you get Som Dum strength!

Also in the photo is another favourite Esaan staple: Laab. Laab is a kind of minced salad (again from Laos), made with minced chicken (gai), pork (moo), beef (nuea) or local favs. fish (pla) or waterbuffalo (gnuea). The buffalo is smililar to beef but is a bit tougher and doesn't really have a strong flavour. The mince is mixed with rice powder (the rice has been fried and then ground into a powder), ubiquitous fish sauce, dried chilli, lime, chicken stock or water and garnished with mint, thai basil, coriander or other herbs. An important purpose of vegetables here is to be "Ghin gup Laab" to eat with Laab. So Laab is served with fresh vegetables such as cabbage, lettuce, beans, small round eggplant, cucumber or other greens - yum.

In the picture we are eating steamed rice (Khao Jao in Essan or Khao Soi in central Thailand), but usually we eat both these dishes with sticky rice (Khao Niao). The sticky rice is rolled into balls, eaten with Laab and Som Dum using your fingers. For steamed rice you use a fork and spoon. There's also some chicken in the picture, we had a feast that day! (Oops we'd just started to eat and I remembered to take a pic). From the photo we can tell it's not taken in the North East because there's no Khao Niao. We eat Khao Niao usually three times a day here (that's in the rural Thai village of Ban Pao in Kaeset Sombun). The rice is freshly harvested from Apichart's family's rice paddy fields. Did you know that rice growing in the rice paddy smells like freshly cooked rice only a bit sweeter?

The Earth's waters are both boundaries and pathways for peoples, objects and ideas.

Fumio Nanjo

The Border Crossing Contemporary Art Project

BORDER CROSSING

Brief Description of Project

Border Crossing is as an exploration of collaborative art practice, where the artists involved in the project experiment with using multi-layered collaborative processes that traverse geographical and cultural boundaries. Within this framework, the artists reflect on current land occupation, colonisation or ownership issues, and the effects of rural - urban relocation on identity relating to their specific cultural context. The project culminates in a series of art exhibitions to be held in several countries within the Asia Pacific region.

Summary of issues explored in Border Crossing

Summary of issues explored in Border Crossing

• Collaboration between artists from different cultural backgrounds.
  
• Using techniques for art reproduction and communication enabled by contemporary technology.
  
• Issues of ownership, copyright and authenticity.
  
• How the artists resolve the themes for the work relevant to their cultural backgrounds.
  
• Resolving the conflict between individual artists freedom and respect for another artist's work.
  

Aims/Objectives

The aim of Border Crossing is to conduct an experiment between artists who originate from different cultural environments within the Asia Pacific region, utilising contemporary digital and communication technology to expand the possibilities of creative practice, culminating in a series of exhibitions in several countries. Fundamental to the process is the way the artists communicate across geographical and cultural divides. Border Crossing questions how issues of dissemination of information, image reproduction, ownership and copy write law are resolved and acted upon. The use of fine art reproductions (giclee canvas prints) challenges the authenticity and originality of the artwork. Who owns and therefore receives any monetary reward for a painting that the three painters have worked on? Is it the artist who creates the first painting, or the person who finishes the artwork? Unlike the master apprentice relationship, all three artists are acknowledged equally in contributing to the artwork, although the artist who finishes the painting has the main responsibility and freedom to resolve the finished artwork. Inherent in the process is an element of respect and acknowledgement of another's work. There is a need to adapt to another's painting style and respond accordingly. It is the prerogative of each artist to select which parts of an artwork to retain and which parts to erase or adapt – each artist has the option to completely paint over the other's work. In addition, the art exhibition, enabled by contemporary technology, creates a phylogeny of paintings where the evolution of the completed work can be traced, resembling a family tree.
The intended outcome of the exhibition is to present art work that engages viewers in a multi-country dialogue, stimulating discussion about the issues presented, and promoting collaborations between artists from different cultural backgrounds. There will be a forum available for viewers to respond directly to the works thereby continuing the conversation.
Border Crossing will impact the cultures that we are engaging with by raising awareness of issues concerning negotiating the differences between urban and rural life and critically engage people with issue concerning peoples connections to the land. Border Crossing aims to promote understanding between different cultures via the collaborative nature of the project and it's presentation to a diverse spectrum of people across several countries in the Asia Pacific region.

Connections between the artists

Border Crossing curator, Wendy Grace Allen (nee Dawson) grew up in Palmerston North, New Zealand, making regular visits to her cousins at their nearby family farm. Later,she owned a house in the country where she developed an interested in landscape design, ecological and sustainable gardening, growing fruit and vegetables and keeping bees. Her relationship to the land is informed by her Christian world view of God as creator and our responsibility as caretakers of His creation. In 1996, Wendy moved from Otago where she completed her Diploma of Fine Arts, to Adelaide to study for her Master of Visual Arts degree at the University of South Australia. This is where she met fellow students Helen Stacey and Apichart Pholprasert. She has lived in several places around New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and Thailand. She is currently Artist in Residence in Ban Pao Rural Art Centre, Thailand.
A Bangkok based lecturer-artist, Apichart Pholprasert negotiates rural/urban cultural differences in his art practice. The contrasting experience between his childhood in a farming family in North East Thailand, and his relocation(s)to Bangkok, then Adelaide, Australia and Newcastle,U.K, to further his education led him to develop his art making philosophy. This philosophy builds around and responds to, the interconnection between the multiple binaries of rural/urban,low-tech/high-tech, and local/international.
Helen Stacey’s work revolves around the land, where some series include sign and metaphor related to issues of reconciliation and spirituality. In Border Crossing her work celebrates the long awaited post-apology era when reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians can be further advanced and signs of colonisation can become transformed.

Methodology/Implementation of the Project

Collaborative Process

1. Each artist creates a painting, then follows the pattern below:
   Artist A paints a canvas reflecting on the themes/ideas of the show.
   
2. Artist A then takes a digital photograph of their work and emails a copy to the other two artists.
   
3. With the digital copy of the image received, Artist B and Artist C each produce a giclee print onto canvas (of specified size).
   
4. Artist B then paints on top of a giclee print of the painting made by Artist A, responding to the work and reflecting on the theme of the show.
   
5. Artist C also paints on top of a giclee print of the painting made by Artist A.
   
6. Artist B takes a digital photograph of the combined artist's work (Artist A and Artist B). The photograph is emailed to Artist C.
   
7. Artist C takes a digital photograph of the combined artist's work (Artist A and Artist C ). The photograph is emailed to Artist B.
   
8. With the digital copy of the image received, Artist C produces a giclee print onto canvas.
   
9. With the digital copy of the image received, Artist B also produces a giclee print onto canvas.
   
10. Artist C then paints on top of the giclee canvas print in response to Artists A and B's work.
    
11. Artist B also then paints on top of the giclee canvas print in response to Artists A and C's work.
    
12. This process is performed three times: once for each of the contributing artist taking the place of Artist A.
    

The final exhibition will consist of fifteen paintings on canvas: three original fine art paintings on canvas and twelve subsequent collaborative paintings/canvas prints. The process is illustrated in Figure 1, where the artists are labelled A, B and C.

Figure 1: A diagrammatic representation of the collaborative process. Each letter represents an artist. The lines trace the history of a work. For example, the left branch of the left-most tree describes the process of Artist A creating a painting (a copy of) which is passed to Artist B to over paint, then a copy of this new work is passed to Artist C for a second over-painting.

The details of collaborative process can be confusing, so it is helpful to explain it in several different ways. Figure 2 also describes the process, labelling the paintings instead of the artists, and figure 3 shows how the actual artworks fit on to the tree.

Figure 2: An alternative diagrammatic representation of the collaborative process. The nodes of these graphs represent a (finished) painting using the following notation: each painting is labelled by the initials of the artists who have worked on it (see the key in the figure for a list of the initials), with the order of the initials corresponding to the order that the artists worked on the painting. For example, the node WAH represents a work that was originally painted by Wendy Grace Allen, reproduced and painted over by Apichart Pholprasert, reproduced again and finish by Helen Stacey.

Figure 3: Images of the artworks arranged as a “family tree”.

The project is to be exhibited in Bangkok, Thailand, Palmerston North, New Zealand, Adelaide, Australia and Singapore. The target audience includes professional artists, art collectors, art supporters, museum curators and art students.

The Earth's waters are both boundaries and pathways for peoples, objects and ideas.

Fumio Nanjo