IN SEARCH OF THE UNKNOWN

The latest exhibition held during the 3rd – 5th of November 2017 was the third of UNKNOWN ASIA’s annual exhibitions. Artists from Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and South Korea exhibited at the Herbis Hall, a venue where the event was being held. Works were selected through an open call and a curatorial system in which artists were chosen through supportive organizations sta- tioned in each country. As for Thailand, the selections were made by Practical Design Studio and The Jam Factory. However, artists were also welcomed to submit their works independently via the event’s website.

Artists were then assigned to booths within the rows of their country of origin. As for the booths, the artists were free to exhibit their works however they wanted. Zi Lin Yee, an illustrator/graphic designer from Malaysia plastered all the walls, including the floor, with her hand-drawn maps of Kuala Lumpur, so that visitors could experience the feeling of being immersed in her home city. Similarly, South Korean graphic design studio ‘Ordinary People’ also took the same approach toward their booth, using torn paper to replicate the treatment of ripped posters. At the other side of the venue, Maria Lezhnina, a Russian architect/photographer who resides in Taipei, chose to present only two atmospheric photographs of her empty pools series by suspending them, like a banner, from the walls. As with Meri Maeno, an embroidery artist from Japan, she created a live performance by sewing a mural-sized embroidery that was hung from the wall, for exhibition-goers to see throughout the entire event of UNKNOWN ASIA 2017.

The selection of artists from Indonesia included Ignatius Hermawan Tanzil, a graphic designer from LeBoYe design studio and owner of Dia.Lo.Gue artspace. His selection of artists were of great variety. Situated opposite me was Natasha Lubis, who combines paintings with found imagery depicting traditional Indonesian women in order to convey her articulation of the female desire in the current urban society. The artist with the booth next to her, Evelyn Pritt, is a Bali-based photographer. Pritt exhibited monochromatic photographs that at first look could be taken simply as beautiful pictures of the the sea and sky. However, upon closer inspection and through conversations with Pritt, she revealed that the night skies with glistening stars were in fact macro images of the black sand beaches of Bali. Another photographer exhibiting right at the beginning of the row that us Southeast Asians shared; Hilarius Jason Pratana displayed his fashion photography in a street posteresque aesthetic. He stated that through his work, he wants to address the statement that the medium of fashion photography nowadays is limitless by implementing his adaptation of fashion photography into everyday advertising outside of the fashion-cliché realm. He does this by recreating posters for movies, public service announcements, fine art, or even call girl / boy advertisements.

Evelyn Pritt’s photographs of the black sand of Bali that resembles the image of the night sky

Evelyn Pritt’s photographs of the black sand of Bali that resembles the image of the night sky

Evelyn Pritt’s photographs of the black sand of Bali that resembles the image of the night sky

UNKNOWN ASIA is all in all a good model event that shows how art and design could be integrated seamlessly together with the business sector in this current era. It is also an event that undeniably acts as a vessel in which artists, despite their cultures and backgrounds, can come together and form connections through creativity. Through this model of ‘art exchange,’ artists and visitors alike are able to witness the shifting trends of each countries’ representatives and the direction they are heading to- wards, igniting awareness within the creative industry. It exposes the kaleidoscopic array of work to both artists and visitors, dawning on us how much creativity our neighboring countries hold. After all, a collective force creates a rippling statement.

The judge of Unknown Asia Art Exchange Osaka 2017