Yay-Zeq
dal 8/11/2012 al 20/11/2012
Segnalato da
8/11/2012
Yay-Zeq
International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP), New York
Four Burmese Artists Meet Again. The exhibition tells the story of how the artist Sitt Nyein Aye taught Htein Lin to draw on the forest floor in an enclosed refugee camp in Manipur in 1988 while fleeing Burma after the 8888 Uprising; and the story of the friendship between Htein Lin and the comedian Zarganar in Rangoon which began at university in the mid-80s before the democracy uprising, and has survived each other's multiple imprisonments and exiles.
In Burmese thought, yay-zeq, a water-drop, signifies a present or future encounter caused by an act of merit performed together in the past. The exhibition is about the philosophic and cultural strategies that have served to withstand or conjure tectonic social and political shifts of upheaval or change. Yay-Zeq: Four Burmese Artists Meet Again tells the story of how the artist Sitt Nyein Aye taught Htein Lin to draw on the forest floor in an enclosed refugee camp in Manipur in 1988 while fleeing Burma after the 8888 Uprising; and the story of the friendship between Htein Lin and the comedian Zarganar in Rangoon which began at university in the mid-80s before the democracy uprising, and has survived each other’s multiple imprisonments and exiles.
At university they reinvigorated the ancient comedy and dance tradition – anyeint – in two directions. For Zarganar, (whose name means tweezers) it took the form of stand-up comedy routines. Htein Lin and his performance partner Chaw Ei Thein used its recognizable structure of a princess and a comedian, to create small acts in the streets of Rangoon.
Clark House presents rarely seen selections from Sitt Nyein Aye’s archive including drawings of his journey from Burma to India and the camps and refugee communities in which he lived as well as his own writing, including an autobiography alongside publications he edited and produced by means of makeshift printing machines. Also exhibited for the first time is a video documenting the artist Htein Lin’s second performance in 1997, at an exhibition opening in Yangon, kept secret since its creation and only returned to the artist this year. The exhibition is a culmination of conversations, collected archives, commissions, and translations, since curator Zasha Colah first met Htein Lin in his studio in 2008.
Drawings on the Forest Floor: Htein Lin and Sitt Nyein Aye in conversation
Saturday, November 10th, 5pm
This conversation serves as the first public meeting of Burmese artists Htein Lin and Sitt Nyein Aye since they fled to the border hills following the repression of the democratic protest against the military regime in Burma that began on August 8, 1988, now known as the 8888 Uprising. The young law student Htein Lin first met the celebrated Mandalay painter Sitt Nyein Aye in the Patkai Hills of Northeast India. Together they share their views on art and philosophy, duty and “the artist's way”, reconnecting with their discussions from 24 years ago, including Sitt Nyein Aye’s imparting of an art education through drawings on the forest floor.
Living Monument: A performance by Htein Lin and Chaw Ei Thein
Sunday, November 11th, 3pm
Living Monument is a collaborative performance between Htein Lin and Chaw Ei Thein developed in response to recent political transitions in Burma and the artists’ current positions as persons in exile. The artists will don traditional Burmese dance costumes and perform various narratives providing commentary on the historical and current political situation in Burma. The performance will remember and recognize times under the previous military dictatorship and doubtfully consider the potential of the new democratically elected Burmese government.
Translations Ko Moe and Vicky Bowman | Collaborators: Amrita Gupta-Singh Mohile Parikh Center Bombay | Home Office Yangon | Prof. Nikam, Sir JJ School of Art Bombay | Asian Cultural Council New York | Kari Conte & team ISCP New York. The exhibition travels to Kochi-Muziris Biennale with the support of Foundation for Arts Initiatives New York and Stapati Architects Kochi.
ISCP's 2012 institution-in-residence is Clark House Initiative, Bombay. This annual residency was initiated by ISCP in 2011 to support cultural exchange by bringing an international perspective into a local context.
Clark House Initiative is a curatorial practice about a place, which in sharing a junction with two museums and a cinema, mirrors the fiction of what these spaces could be. Sumesh Sharma and Zasha Colah established Clark House Initiative in 2010 as a curatorial collaborative concerned with ideas of freedom.
Photograph ©Martin LeSanto-Smith
Opening: Friday 09.11.12 | 7pm-9pm
International Studio & Curatorial Program
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