HELD AT BANGKOK DESIGN WEEK 2021 FROM JULY 3RD TO 11TH, THE EXHIBITION IS A COLLECTION OF IDEAS AND OPINIONS FROM CREATIVE PROFESSIONALS TO PROPOSE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS AND SELF-SUPPORT GIVEN DURING THE PANDEMIC
TEXT: NAPAT CHARITBUTRA
PHOTO: KETSIREE WONGWAN EXCEPT AS NOTED
(For Thai, press here)
No matter how much of an improvisational genius you are at dealing with the unexpected, the uncertainties and disruptions brought about by COVID-19, not to mention how the hopeless vision and management of the current government are, at this point, like hammering nail after nail on the coffin for everyone who’s struggling to survive. The situation for Bangkok Design Week 2021 is no different. We’re not just talking about the host or the Creative Economy Agency, but about the hundreds of artists, designers, event organizers and sponsors who have been forced to rethink and readjust their plans. On the day this article is being written (June 27th, 2021), only a few weeks before Creative Virus’s scheduled opening date, new restrictions were announced in the middle of the night. It included a ban on restaurant dine-ins in Bangkok and five surrounding provinces, as well as parties or celebrations, or activities involving a gathering of more than 20 people. Mind you, this happened right after the Thai PM was giggling with reporters in his latest press conference, showing off his two fingers assuring that ‘there will be no lockdown!’
But regardless of countless debacles we’ve witnessed under this administration, Creative Virus is going to take place at Bangkok Design Week 2021. Hosted by art4d, the exhibition is originated from the magazine’s 273 issue, ‘We will meet again’, published in the middle of 2020. It is a collection of ideas and opinions from architects, artists, designers, directors and other professionals from different creative fields to propose possible solutions and self-support given during the first wave of the pandemic (early-mid 2020). To download the content, visit https://bit.ly/3eYIHtV
From the total of 85 works featured in the issue, Creative Virus will showcase 33 works and 14 projects from Design Hero : The New Normal (organized by Art & Culture for Health Literacy, Thai Health Promotion Foundation (THPF)) at TCDC, 1st Floor Gallery (the main building’s back wing), Bangkok. The designer and curator of the space is Imaginary Objects (iO), which is a show that is also featured as the 34rd work of the exhibition. Using a series of grids, the design team creates an installation system with 64 slots on the exhibition space’s floor, including a circulation and physical distancing for viewers to practice social distancing measures. Yarinda Bunnag told us that Moksha Patam (the snakes and ladders game) inspired the idea behind the work.
That’s right. The lines you see on the floor are ladders and snakes that lead viewers to other parts of the exhibition space or the board. This particular board is designed to have an additional functionality that also divides the works into categories–fine art/product design/graphic design/architecture/selected works from the project, Design Hero : The New Normal.
The impacts that COVID-19 has brought upon us are so massive to the extent where if this whole situation was a film, the pandemic would be the core of the story that leads to many other series of ‘abnormal’ incidents. This is the reason why the four rather broad subjects, 1) Creative Solutions 2) Design from Home 3) What Art Can Do? – Art in the Age of Global Pandemic and 4) COVID Diary, given to the fellow designers, has led to the creation of almost one hundred different works. None of which are identical or similar.
Thanks to their varying professional backgrounds, environments, anecdotes, personal tastes, etc., the ways these creative individuals see and depict these issues are so different and diverse. Piyapong Bhumichitra compares the number of transactions people made for buying and selling trees to the timeline of Bangkok lockdowns. Nut Dao created a colorful, sarcastic piece of illustration about the obnoxious bourgeois mindset that looks down on the working class and their inability to save money for a rainy day. PAVA architects explores the balconies of high density residential buildings to find a way to maximize the use of the small spaces. PHTAA living design and Nathavat Kamronrittison have develop the ‘Almsgiving Station’ and propose an alternative solution for people to safely continue the religious activity in the middle of the ongoing pandemic. YUNE’s work looks at the blood shortage crisis worsened by the pandemic and people’s fear of going to public places. THINKK Studio dives into the questionable logic behind the social distancing measures and the pricey rents that restaurants in shopping malls have to splurge on – for the spaces, where each square inch is worth as much as the gold price, if not more. Studiotofu imagines the money spent buying weapons being used to benefit the people (as many with the right mind would know that submarines offer zero contribution to this current situation).
These are only a portion of the works featured in Creative Virus. Showcased on the other side of the exhibition space are works from the project, Design Hero : The New Normal The eclectic entries include a short film, a board game, a vegetable growing box, a face mask, an art project, an application, etc. One of the 14 works will be selected as the winner of the award given by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.
Besides providing support for the budding generation of the creative community, the Art & Culture for Health Literacy under Thai Health Promotion Foundation (THPF) has commissioned professional designers for the development of three pilot projects. The first one is the previously mentioned project called RE-APPROPRIATE (ALMSGIVING STATION) by PHTAA living design and Nathavat Kamronrittison. The second project is we!park’s development of a pocket park near Phadung Krung Kasem Canal, which covers the area from the Grand Station to Sri Praya Pier in Samphanthawong district. The intention behind this project is to create more urban green spaces in the area since it has the smallest green space ratio in Bangkok. The last pilot project, WISHULADA, is an Installation art piece that tells the stories of the area around Lod Canal and Ratchanadda Temple. The top-view map introduces outsiders to the neighborhood with basic information about the area, restaurants, important places and long-standing businesses and commercial establishments that have been struggling to survive during the COVID-19 pandemic. The three projects are developed as a part of the project’s main objective, which is to provide solutions and approaches to help resolve the ongoing social, health-related and environmental problems.
As an exhibition, Creative Virus isn’t about sending out an optimistic message. It’s rather a stage; a platform that allows some of the ideas and opinions from the creative industry to be heard and seen by the general public. Nevertheless, what one needs to keep in mind when browsing through the exhibition is that all of the works were created back in 2020. On this day, in early July of 2021, every topic, issue, observation and critique is still, sadly, relevant to the current situation. To be completely frank without any sugarcoating, many of the works are the implication that even until this very moment, we are still where we were and we haven’t made any substantial steps from when the first wave broke out in 2020.
Held as a part of Bangkok Design Week 2021, Creative Virus is now open for public viewing at TCDC, 1st Floor Gallery (the main building’s back wing), Charoenkrung, Bangkok, from July 3rd to 11th, 2021. Don’t forget to wear your mask and scan the Thai Chana app before entering the exhibition.
