Drawing from oral histories and unwritten memories, the works of Saroot Supasuthivech unearth the multiplicity of narratives embedded in specific locations. His installations often combine moving image and sound to conjure the affective aura of a site and bring forth its intangible socio-historical stratifications. Using photogrammetry techniques, he turns 2D images into 3D models as a way of to blur the lines between the real and the mythical. His latest video installation, River Kwai: This Memorial Service Was Held in the Memory of the Deceased (2022), was featured in the Discoveries Section at Art Basel Hong Kong 2022.
For his residency at Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Saroot Supasuthivech will research the encounters of cultures, faiths and rituals among immigrant communities and local inhabitants. He is especially interested in the spiritual beliefs and ceremonial traditions by which humans ritualise the moment of death. With a focus on the historical impact of immigration on funerary practices across different regional and religious contexts, the artist will survey specific burial sites and rituals in Germany and Thailand looking at how foreign communities enact their funerary traditions abroad.
Major sites of interest for his research are the Protestant Cemetery in Bangkok and the Kurpark (Spa Park) in Bad Homburg, the only town outside of Thailand that features two Sala Thai (open pavilions). The Sala were gifted to the city of Bad Homburg by King Chulalongkorn of Siam (1853 to 1910) as a token of gratitude after the monarch’s illness was healed in the spa town in 1907. From the materials gathered through field trips, interviews and archival research, the artist plans to develop a video installation that will convey the mystical structures of those sites as well as the spiritual intersections engendered by global migrations.
]]>This public programme will start punctually at 4.00pm. Please arrive at least 10min before time to secure a space. Admittance will be on a first-come-first-served basis.
A Passage to Dreamworld is a public programme held in conjunction with Passages, an exhibition of the second cycle of SEA AiR – Studio Residencies for Southeast Asian artists in the European Union. Featuring artists Priyageetha Dia (Singapore), Ngoc Nau (Vietnam) and Saroot Supasuthivech (Thailand) and their artworks Sap Sonic, Virtual Reverie: Echoes of a Forgotten Utopia and Spirit-forward in G Major, the exhibition is a culmination of their residencies in Europe.
As an extension of the exhibition, A Passage to Dreamworld takes audiences through a performative journey into a liminal realm where reality and imagination intertwine. In creating a space where creative impulses take place, fresh perceptions can be formed to give way to new possibilities.
Priyageetha Dia will perform a reading from her work Sonified Vision, which looks into the sonification of visual material, accompanied with a live-mixing of sound samples from Sap Sonic. Ngoc Nau presents a two-channel projection drawn from additional footage alongside Virtual Reverie: Echoes of a Forgotten Utopia, and a sound performance on traditional Vietnamese instruments against a mix of soundtracks by her collaborator Dustin Ngo, a Vietnamese sound producer and instrumentalist. Saroot Supasuthivech’s video The Ritual of Life and Music shows the process of a Thai Buddhist monk making holy water and chanting the prayer Ratana Sutta, a sacred verse addressing the contemplation of the Triple Gem: Buddha, Dharma (the teachings), and Sangha (the monastic Buddhist community); followed by a live performance of Sai Samon, a Thai song featured in Spirit-forward in G Major, on the khlui (a Thai flute), by Thai musician Udom Kiattivikrai.
In view of the public programme that is held within the exhibition spaces, Passages will not be on view while the programme is ongoing.
Singapore Art Week 2024 Late Night programme: SPIRIT WORLD
From 7.00pm till late
Blk 38 Malan Road, #01-05, Singapore 109441
Responding to sounds from artist Priyageetha Dia’s Sap Sonic, DJs DIA.HRD (the artist herself), FATIMAH, C2AC and ALEEZON will perform a live mix evolving into free play as an activation of the exhibition space.
19:00 DIA.HRD
20:00 FATIMAH
21:00 ALEEZON
22:00 C2AC
SPIRIT WORLD is a space for everyone, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or background. This includes respecting personal space and boundaries. Discriminatory behaviour will not be tolerated.