Curating Topography Trilogy
Chief curator: Sandy Hsiu-Chih Lo
“Curating Topography Trilogy” Part I, “Topography of the Mirror Cities,” was conducted from 2016 to 2021 across six cities—Dhaka, Bangkok, Taipei, Jakarta, Cambodia, and Kuala Lumpur—where each urban environment served to reflect and illuminate the others. The upcoming part II, titled “The Glimmer of Artistic Topographies,” aspires to enhance cross-disciplinary collaboration among these locales, aiming to cultivate a more proactive and diverse artistic vision for a shared future and a collaboratively constructed world.
Topography of Mirror Cities
(“Curating Topography Trilogy” Part I)
Curating topography not only acknowledges individual differences but also presents an alternative community discourse. It does not aim to restore the integrity of a place that is lost, but rather seeks to create a fresh space focused on the cultural imagination of the invisible and unclassifiable multitude. The key is to redefine the place as an open art field—a platform for communication and exchange, and a public space that condenses the community’s imagination. It embraces a critical, liberating, and emancipatory concept of time and space, functioning as a heterotopia between reality and imagination. This space calls for the production of relative and relational spaces, dialectically operating within actual living spaces while simultaneously acting upon abstract, immaterial cultural spaces.
SHOHORNAMA I (Dhaka), curated by Rahman Mahbubur
Bangkok Layers(Bangkok), curated by Jiandyin(Jiradej+Pornpilai Meemalai)
Herbal Urbanism(Taipei), curated by Manray Hsu
KOTA.EDU(Jakarta), curated by Ade Darmawan
Currents I(Phnom Penh), curated by Vuth Lyno+Pen Sereypagna
Reshaping: History, Community & Identity(Kuala Lumpur), curated by Yeoh Lian Heng
The Glimmer of Artistic Topographies
(“Curating Topography Trilogy” Part II)
Everyone longs for a sense of belonging to a place and seeks to imagine how to connect with the world from that place. Utopian fantasies and transcending taboos seem to share a similar psychological structure; both are expressions of dissatisfaction with the status quo. In this context, places are presented as seeking to expand the boundaries of life, creating a landscape of constantly changing places. A new life is a new beginning, and everyone has the ability to act and create a unique landscape. At the same time, based on the plurality of new life, there are countless possibilities for the action of weaving landscapes. Weaving landscapes that integrate ethics, politics, and aesthetics is not solely an endeavor to care for the world and enhance the better life; it also embodies the pursuit of humanity’s highest ideals. This represents the profound significance of creating fluid landscapes rooted in specific places. The glimmer of artistic topographies serves as a guiding light along this path.
Taiwan Section
This year, the Jakarta Biennale commemorates its 50th anniversary with a comprehensive artistic celebration, prominently featuring the contributions of Taiwanese curators and artists. Among the highlights of this event, three projects, “Whose City,” “Herbal Urbanism: Jakarta” and “Mobile Topography,” will delve into the intricate historical and contemporary relationships between Taiwan, Jakarta and other cities, while also addressing broader themes of urban interaction and cultural exchange.
Whose City
Curators: Yuma Taru+Sandy Hsiuchih Lo
Artists: Anli Genu, Baunay Watan, Alak Akatuang(Hung-Kun Duan), Walis Labai, Yuma Taru, Aguce, Pilin Yapu, Yulan Toyuw, Mayaw Biho, Hung-Lin Chiu, Anchi Lin(Ciwas Tahos), Bawxin Suyan, Yi-Jen Dou(hewen), Siyat Moses
Herbal Urbanism: Jakarta
Curator: Manray Hsu
Artists: Chao Jui-Kuang, Feng Wei-Chung, Huang Po-Chih, Hsu Cheng-Tang, Melmel Chen, Peng Hung-Chih
Mobile Topography
Artists: Tsai Ming-Yueh+Absence Space(Chen Yu-Ching+Ku Yi-Lin), Jimmy Lin+Yi-Wen Chen+Ryan Chang
SHOHORNAMA II(Dhaka)
Curators: Mahbubur Rahman + Lipi Tayeba Begum
Participants:
Artists: Afia Noor, Aminul Islam Ashik, Amir Faisal Ruscho, Arpita Singha Lopa, Ashim Halder Sagor, Farah Naz Moon , Farhana Ferdausi, Jinnatun Jannat, Mahbubur Rahman , Mahmuda Siddika, Mehedi Hasan, Mohosin Kabir, Mohammed Noman Khan, Sarah Jabin, Shahriar Shaon, Shimul Datta, Shimul Saha, Tamanna Liza
Architects: , Sabiha Ambareen Haque, Samiha Tajrin, Shamim Ahmed Chowdhury, Tabassum Ul Zannat
The Valley of Hope(Kuala Lumpur)
Curator: Yeoh Lian Heng
Artists: Vincent Yeoh Soon Hwa, Tan Cheng Guan, Ching Ooi Chee, Yee Sooi Siam, Lim Booi Nya, Lim Yan Chin, Leong Chee Kuang, Tan Eng Chong, Goh Sooi Seong, Yong Chin Kong, Chuar Gim Tuan, Heng Pak Nang
Project volunteers: Lim Mei Kim, Chong Pow Ying, Ang Tsuey Ing, Yong Lai Chan, Yong Loy Heong, Choo Khai Yan, Ethel Cheah, Choo Chui Wah, Tee Poh Ling, Tammy Yeoh, Yee Yoon Ching, Cheang Ooi Peng, Chia Guat Ching, Heng Chea Kun, Erica Chen, Foo Kah Yan, Lee Bee Teng, Samantha Tang Mae Yee, Chong Sook Fang, Chong Qi Jia, Kam Lok Yan, Lam Che Sum
Documentary film directors: Zijee Chang+Yoeh Ue Jay
