Bangkok Art Biennale 2020 is in full swing, showcasing more than 200 artworks by 82 artists at 10 venues until Jan 31, 2021. River City Bangkok was the last to be added as the tenth venue. If you don’t know where to begin, allow me to present a cheatsheet to help you discover pieces that you shouldn’t miss from BAB.
1. BAB Box @One Bangkok on Witthayu Road features some 20 artworks. It opens from 10am-8pm and closes on Tuesdays. A hop, a skip and a jump from MRT Lumphini.
- Tropikos, 2016 by John Akomfrah (b. 1957, Accra, Ghana). Colour video with sound. Courtesy: Smoking Dog Films and Lisson Gallery
- We Have Found In The Ashes What We Lost In The Fire, 2018 by Rushdi Anwar (b. 1971, Halabja, Kurdistan-Iraq). Print on plexiglass, photograph printed on paper, mixed medium embedded within 12 wooden boxes. This project has been assisted by the Australian government through the Australia Council For The Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.
- Devi/The River (After Aristide Maillol), 2013 by Thanet Awsinsiri (b. 1960, Krabi, Thailand). Acrylic on canvas. Courtesy: Thanet Awsinsiri
- In Between, 2009-2010 by Julia Fullerton-Batten (b. 1970, Bremen, Germany). Photography. Courtesy: Julia Fullerton-Batten
2. Located a bit further from BAB Box on Witthayu Road, The Prelude One Bangkokplays host to 13 pieces. It opens from 10am-8pm and closes on Tuesdays. Closest MRT is Lumphini station.
3. Bangkok Art and Culture Centre exhibits more than 86 pieces of work from 38 artists, which can be founded on the ground, seventh, eighth and ninth floors. It opens from 10am-7pm and closes on Monday. BTS National Stadium.
- On the left is DO A TO MII Doll 1939, Doll 2020, by Lolay (b. 1970, Udon Thani, Thailand). On the right is Untitled 2020 (Infinite Attempts Never Concluded) by Rirkrit Tiravanija (b. 1961, Buenos Aires, Argentina). A labyrinthian bamboo installation. Courtesy: BACC
- The Promenade des Homos, 2020 by Michael Shaowanasai (b. 1964, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA). A series of portrait photographs and video interviews of the members of the Thai LGBTQ community to mark the 50th anniversary of the first Pride march in New York in 1969. Courtesy: BACC
- Peek!, 2020 by Charit Pusiri (b. 1986, Bangkok, Thailand). Boxes that let the viewers peek through the keyhole as to see only a fraction of the story. Courtesy: BACC
- Student Bodies, 2019 by Ho Rui An (b. 1990, Singapore). A HD video about the troubled history of capitalist modernity and radical culture in East and Southeast Asia through the figure of the student body. Courtesy: BACC
- Max The Spin Necker, 2020, Jack The Skinners, 2019 and The Shadow Of Zack, 2020 by P7 (b. 1970, Bangkok, Thailand). Courtesy: BACC
- The Great Adventure Of The Material World, 2019 by Lu Yang (b. 1984, Shanghai, China). A digital fantasy full of cyberpunk noir mixed with mind-bending technologies and religious motifs. The gods and avatars from different realms collide in Lu’s computer games. Courtesy: BACC
- Dragonerpanzer (Dragoon Tank), 2018-2020 by Wasinburee Supanichvoraparch (b. 1971, Ratchaburi, Thailand). Wasinburee’s blue-and-white tanks are inspired by the story of Frederick Augustus I of Saxony and his obsession with Chinese porcelain. Courtesy: BACC
- Lhai Thon, 2020by Chantana Tiprachart (b. 1991, Kalasin, Thailand). A video installation on rituals and animism related to the Naga. Courtesy: BACC
- Flow, 2020 by Souliya Phoumivong (b. 1983, Ban Kokxay, Lao PDR). A portrayal of remote life in Ban Kokxay, near the Mekong River, through stop-motion animation, handmade clay models of colourful water buffaloes and humans. Albeit with an existential twist. Courtesy: BACC
- Fortune Shelt(ell)er, 2020 by New-Territories (est. 1993, Paris, France). The architecture studio presents a pseudo-art lab full of creative activities, ranging from growing mycelium, data collection, gardening and performance related to the supernatural and fortune-telling. Courtesy: BACC
- Unknown Title, 2019-2020by Peerachai “Samer” Patanapornchai (b. 1961, Bangkok, Thailand). For more than 20 years, Samer has been wandering on the streets of Bangkok but he’s known as the code man, who made countless charcoal drawings on walls and public spaces. Now his codes are on cardboards. An outsider art. Courtesy: BACC
- Law Of The Journey (2016), In At Sea (2016), In Idomeni (2016) and Odyssey (2016) by Ai Weiwei (b. 1957, Beijing, China). They all explore the fate and plight of refugees across the globe. Law Of The Journey is a pièces de résistance of all-black inflatable boat carrying faceless refugee figures. Courtesy: Ai Weiwei Studio
4.Lhong 1919 in Thon Buri houses 15 artworks. The mixed-use space is on Chiang Mai Road and opens from 10am-7pm and closes on Monday.
- Traveling Artist, 2018 by Christian Jankowski (b. 1968, Göttingen, Germany). Inkjet print. Funding provided by ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen). Courtesy: Christian Jankowski
- Cut My Tongue And Lips, 2018 by Farhana Islam Tani (b. 1987, Chittagong, Bangladesh). A 10-minute video installation in which she performs a ritualistic and repetitive task of braiding and un-braiding her hair. A symbolic act to highlight the patriarchal structures in Asian cultures. Courtesy: Farhana Islam Tani
- Interstitial, 2020 by Yanakorn Sinvatcharaporn (b. 1996, Surat Thani, Thailand). He lets us into his inner sanctum through the use of everyday things in his life, from dry moss collected from Lumphini Park to cocoons collected from the walls of his own house. Courtesy: Preecha Pattaraumpornchai
5.Museum Siam on Sanam Chai Road showcases 11 artworks on Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am-6pm. A hop, a skip and a jump from MRT Sanam Chai, literally.
- Rosas – Opera in 3 Acts, 2012 by Marinella Senatore (b. 1977, Cava dé Tirreni, Campania, Italy). An installation comprises of 3 HD video projections, 10 videos on monitors, media players and headphones. Courtesy: Marinella Senatore
- Popil, 2018 by Khvay Samnang (b. 1982, Svay Rieng, Cambodia). Digital C-prints reflects on colonisation and migration in Cambodia through a dance choreography inspired by the classical Khmer Robam kbach boran dance. Commissioned by Haus der Kunst. Courtesy: Khvay Samnang
6. River City Bangkok hosts the Year of Rat exhibition at Tang Contemporary Art where you can find more works by Chinese artist/activist Ai Weiwei. In Zodiac, 12 zodiac animal heads made of Lego pieces symbolise 180 years of East and West, provocation and adaptation, advancement and backwardness, glory and humiliation. Another highlight is his recreation of defacing splash of colour thrown at Mao Zedong’s portrait in May 1989 in Tiananmen Square. There are 11 pieces in total on display. Open Tue-Sun from 11am-7pm.
7. On the corner where Ratchadaphisek and Rama IV roads meet, The Parq houses more than 25 pieces. The mixed-use project opens daily from 10am-8pm and is easily accessible via MRT Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.
- Rising, 2018 by Marina Abramovi (b. 1946, Belgrade, Serbia). This is her first VR artwork designed to fight climate change and it’s the first time it’s shown in Southeast Asia. The player will be transported to the middle of the Arctic Ocean but stranded alone on a wooden dock. Abramovi is trapped inside and drowning as the water rises. Courtesy: Marina Abramovi and Acute Art
- Bleu Blanc Rouge (Blue, White, Red), 2020 by Yuree Kensaku (b. 1979, Bangkok, Thailand). This big piece of 140cm-by-540cm contains acrylic paint, glitter and collage techniques.
- The World Is Directed by Karma, 2020 by Thaiwijit Puengkasemsomboon (b. 1959, Pattani, Thailand). This large-scale piece encapsulates a Buddhist adage that goes, “Beings are directed by their own karma”, using discarded materials. Courtesy: Thaiwijit Puengkasemsomboon
- Tooth Clinic, 2020 by Note Kritsada (b. 1980, Bangkok, Thailand). Note expands on his childhood visits to see the dentist, using his sense of humour to create a fantasy world of dental care. Courtesy: Note Kritsada
8. Wat Phra Chetuphon (Wat Pho) on Sanam Chai Road features two artworks. It opens daily from 8.30am-5.30pm. Dress politely.
9.Wat Prayoon on Prajadhipok Road has two artworks. It opens from 8.30am-5.30pm.
10. Wat Arun on Wang Doem Road houses only one piece by Anish Kapoor.read more
