Of Hunters and Gatherers

 


OF HUNTERS AND GATHERERS

part of Pollination #3 project

Dedicated website

May 28th 2021


The third edition of ‘Pollination’ curated by LIR and Kittima Chareeprasit, titled ‘Of Hunters and Gatherers’, is composed of an exhibition, symposia and dedicated website.

‘The Hunters’, is an exhibition featuring the work of artists Maryanto (Yogyakarta) and Ruangsak Anuwatwimon (Bangkok), which took place firstly at MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum,Chiang Mai, (19 March to 30 June 2021), and then toured to MAIELIE Art Space (Khon Kaen, late 2021); resulting from extensive collaborative research undertaken from March, 2020 to May, 2021. Traveling beneath the volcanic activity of Mount Merapi, Yogyakarta and along the increasingly dammed river routes of the lower Mekong, on the border between Thailand and Laos.

As the curators walked with the artists, they found themselves recalling specific artists, artworks, performances and social research that are as equally concerned with their local environmental degradation, due to realities of government oversight, colonial extraction and corporate greed. Thus they explored relatable scientific findings and ideas of ‘local embodied knowledge’ (folktales, mythologies, bedtime stories and local methods of ecological survival), the curators realizing a need to listen from not only one side of a story, but a need to listen to more than ‘one site’ of a story. These different bodies of lore are presented as online symposia from 28-30 May 2021, titled ‘The Gatherers’, hosted by Selasar Sunaryo Art Space (Bandung).
The symposia marks the launch of this dedicated website ‘www.ofhuntersandgatherers.com’. Ranging from newly written contributions to republished existing texts; from exhibition documentation to video interview, this site aims to prompt alternate study of ‘local embodied knowledge’ and its relevance in re-thinking ecological sustainability. Featuring interdisciplinary contribution by LIR (Mira Asriningtyas & Dito Yuwono), Kittima Chareeprasit, Ruangsak Anuwatwimon, Maryanto, Prilla Tania, The Forest Curriculum, Elizabeth D.Inandiak, Wut Chalanant , JJ Rizal, Tita Salina, Napak Serirak, Sutthirat Supaparinya. Edited by Zoe Butt and Lee Weng Choy. Designed by Rukpong Raimaturapong and Yonaz Kristy Sanjaya.

A series of public programs were conceived to build bridges between ‘The Hunters’ and ‘The Gatherers’ programs in April 2021;including ‘The Plus Partnership Series’ hosted by Art Curator Grid titled “Curator Conversation: Of Hunters and Gatherers” on 1 April 2021; in addition to participating in the ‘FarBar’ series hosted by The Gray Centre for Arts and Inquiry (University of Chicago), titled “Land, River, and Sea: The Moving Landscape ‘Of Hunters and Gatherers’” consisting of a 3 week screening program, featuring the work of Maryanto, Nontawat Numbenchapol, Prilla Tania, Tita Salina, and Wut Chalanant (21 April – 12 May 2021), with online discussion on 28 April 2021. The recording of these conversations can be watched here.

‘Pollination’ was initiated by The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre (Ho Chi Minh City) in 2018. This third edition is made possible with the generous sponsorship of SAM Fund for Arts and Ecology (Jakarta) and MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum (Chiang Mai); with the support of Selasar Sunaryo Art Space (Bandung) and the Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry (University of Chicago, USA). Thanks also to the curatorial advisors of this edition – Agung Hujatnikajennong, Vipash Purichanont and Zoe Butt. Special thank you must also be extended to Natasha Sidharta and Eric Booth for their belief in our project!

More information on ‘Pollination’ can be found here.
The website is available here.