Zomi: Trans-local Migrants on the Water

From 6 (Fri) September to 14 (mon) October 2024, Kawakyu Museum will hold the exhibition ‘Zomi: Trans-Migrant on the Water’, which tells the story of the exchange over ‘water’ between Asia and the Japanese archipelago through the Kuroshio Current since ancient times, in front of Kamishima Island, which was preserved by Minakata Kumagus from Kinan, Wakayama. The exhibition will be directed and curated by Kinan Art Week.

The exhibition will feature works by leading Southeast Asian artists such as Khvay Samnang (Phnom Penh) and Tita Salina (Jakarta), whose multifaceted works explore the sea and rivers, and Yamauchi Terue (Fukuoka), who has spent time in the coastal areas of the Kuroshio and Tsushima currents, creating works based on the sea as the mother of human and global expression. The exhibition will present the possibility of exchange through water, which has existed in Asia and the Japanese archipelago for a long time, and which is also new.

【Exhibition overview.】
　Dates: Friday 6 September – Sunday 14 October 2024.
　For more information, please visit Kawakyu Museum website.
　Organisers: Kawakyu Museum
　Direction and curation: Kinan Art Week Executive Committee
　Cooperation: AURA Contemporary Art Foundation, Artport Ltd.

【Artist】

YAMAUCHI Terue

Terue Yamauchi, born in Fukuoka in 1982, is an artist working across a wide range of media including video, sound, drawing, and mixed-media installation. She received a BA in Fine Art Studio Practice and Critical Studies from Goldsmiths College, University of London (UK). After graduating from Jeju Hansupul Haenyeo School (Korea), she stayed in the Philippines with funding from the Agency of Cultural Affairs, Japan in 2015 and the Japan Foundation in 2016. Yamauchi’s first feature-length film “Crossing Tides” received a Honorable Mention at the Tokyo Documentary Film Festival in 2019. Her most recent work Signal Wave (2023) is a self-documentary of her family history and artistic path slowly merging into the modern history of Japan and Korea. Her recent exhibitions include Japan Pavilion, Gwangju Biennale (South Korea, 2024.9), Each Breath a Bubble – An Exhibition by Terue Yamauchi (Tsushima Museum, Tsushima Island, 2024), Waters in Asian Art (Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka, 2023), Spinning East Asia SeriesⅡ: A Net (Dis)entangled (Center for Heritage Arts & Textile, Hong Kong, 2022).

Tita Salina

Tita Salina is a self-taught artist based in Jakarta. Her initial work is to place the imagination through performative intervention in the midst of chaotic public space of megapolitan Jakarta, which faces the dilemma of uncontrolled urbanization and pollution. Currently, with partner artist Irwan Ahmett work on a long-term project related to geopolitical turmoil in the Ring of Fire – Pacific Rim, the most prone region to natural disasters as well as traumatic consequences which is caused by the persistent ideological violence. High mobility as the main vehicle to participate in residency programs, research, field study and exhibitions in specific areas, which is paradoxical such as some heavenly yet deadly beautiful places on earth. Tita wanted to find answers about planetary anxieties in regard to human existence by means of evolutionary perspective and to produce knowledge through arts related to injustice, humanity and ecology.

Ngoc Nau

My practice centers around video installation, using 3D software and open-source materials to construct immersive and thought- provoking visual experiences. Beyond video installation, I also engage with other innovative mediums, including photographic light boxes, holograms, and augmented reality. These mediums allow me to offer viewers unique encounters with my artistic vision, and to prompt reflections on how new media significantly shape our perceptions of the world, blurring the line between reality and imagination. I strive to create new dimensions within the realm of video art, challenging conventional narratives and pushing the boundaries of artistic expression. The constant evolution of my artistic practice is fueled by a passion for experimentation and a dedication to embracing intersectionality. By drawing inspiration from my lived experiences and diverse communities, my work embodies perspectives deeply rooted in local contexts, resonating with audiences worldwide. My work prompts contemplation of prevailing historical and social narratives, urging us to reconsider our understanding of the world, moving perceptions of the past and visions of the future in new directions by delving into the complexities of current development and the chaotic nature of contemporary culture.

Khvay Samnang (b.1982, Svay Rieng province)

lives and works in Phnom Penh. He graduated from the Painting Department at the Royal University of Fine Art in Phnom Penh in 2006. One of the most celebrated artists in Cambodia today, Samnang spends extensive amounts of time on-site engaging directly and personally with local communities in his effort to research and gain insight on the profound social issues that Cambodia confronts. While exploring new perspectives and interpretations of history, as well as traditional cultural rituals and beliefs, Samnang uses humorous and symbolic gestures to present multiple layers of meaning through a variety of means, including sculptures that incorporate natural materials, as well as installations, video art, and performances in which he uses his own body, and the bodies of dancers.

Lim Sokchanlina

Lina works across documentary and conceptual practices with photography, video, installation and performance. Using different strategies, he calls attention to a variety of social, political, geopolitical, economic, cultural and environmental changes in Cambodia in relation to the globe and in the notion of what power and economic play roles in our everyday living and contemporary present. His works usually involve researching to discover, unpack and document the history of the present and the imagination of the future by learning from the past.

Lina is an active member of the artist collective, Stiev Selapak since 2007-2024 which founded and co-runs Sa Sa Art Projects since 2010-2024, a long-term initiative committed to the development of contemporary visual arts landscape in Cambodia. Together with his collective, they teach, initiate, and innovate art programs facilitating a growing and critically conscious community. For the last 3 years, he teach contemporary photography at Sa Sa Art Projects.

Mech Choulay＆ Mech Sereyrath

Ms. Choulay MECH (b. 1992, Kandal Province) is a Phnom Penh-based artist, filmmaker, and journalist focusing on environmental and animal rights. With a strong background in journalism, photography, and film, she has received multiple awards and fellowships. Her solo exhibition is at Objectifs, Singapore, in 2024.

Sereyrath MECH (b.1993) is an emerging visual storyteller in Cambodia. In 2013, Sereyrath got offered a scholarship in journalism. After graduate, she has produced numbers of photo series such as Element, Gratitude, and When the Sun Reaches the River, being exhibited in Hong Kong International Photo Festival in 2023. Beside photography, she also made a short film – The Expired which was screened in Busan Film Festival in 2023.