Jompet Kuswidananto: “The Words and Possible Movement”, 2013. Motorbikes without machine, fabric flags. Dimension variable. Collection: Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
‘Sunshower’: Contemporary Southeast Asia at the Mori ‘Sunshower: Contemporary Art from Southeast Asia 1980s to Now,’ is the largest-ever exhibition of Southeast Asian contemporary art to be held in Japan. Mori Art Museum, July 5 to October 23, 2017.]]>
Source: Mori Art Museum
Contemporary art from the emerging economic powerhouse of Southeast Asia, with its total population of around 600 million, is currently earning widespread international attention. In 2017, 50 years after the formation of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), the National Art Center, Tokyo; Mori Art Museum, and the Japan Foundation Asia Center will stage “SUNSHOWER: Contemporary Art from Southeast Asia 1980s to Now,” the largest-ever exhibition of Southeast Asian contemporary art to be held in Japan.
The “sunshower” -rain falling from clear skies- is an intriguing meteorological phenomenon, and a frequent occurrence in the tropical climes of Southeast Asia. Sunshowers also serve as a poetic metaphor for the vicissitudes of a region that in the latter half of the 20th century, in the wake of the colonial era, experienced enormous political, social and economic upheaval: Cold War conflicts and dictatorships followed by modernization and the spread of democracy, and in more recent years, remarkable economic advancement, investment, and urban development. Out-of-the-blue rainfall is also a metaphor for the ambiguous nature of these ups and downs.
Multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-faith Southeast Asia has nurtured a truly dynamic and diverse culture.This exhibition will explore contemporary art in Southeast Asia from the 1980s onward from various perspectives, including aspirations for freedom, identity, growth and its dark sides, community, faith and tradition, and the revisiting of history; showcasing that dynamism and diversity while comparing and contrasting Southeast Asian contemporary art with international contemporary art trends.
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