STATE-LESS 無國界 - Kakilang Festival 2023
How would you explain what makes your homeland unique? No matter where you are from there’s no way you could succinctly show everything in an easily digestible way to an outsider. It’s often better to pick one aspect that’s meaningful to you, and that’s essentially what the artists in STATE-LESS 無國界 have attempted. As part of the Kakilang Festival 2023, ten artists from East and Southeast Asia have contributed works that help a primarily Western audience better understand the incredibly diverse range of regions and cultures that Asian students and immigrants bring with them to the UK. And for the elder generations that have lived here for decades, it’s a chance for them to see how their homeland has evolved since they left.
The show is spread throughout the neo-gothic Two Temple Place, that curator Ling Tan describes as being filled with architecture reminiscent of the colonial remnants still visually prevalent throughout many Asian regions. The legacy of British Colonial architecture can be a challenge for contemporary Asians, who often determine that the best way forward is to reclaim and repurpose those spaces as monuments to their respective native history and culture. In contrast, an excellent documentary photo series by Wang Wei shows how even the native architecture of China is struggling to stand firm in the face of towering skyscrapers and projects like the One Belt One Road initiative, which makes Crossrail and HS2 look like a backyard folly.
Other works in the show focus on more intimate, human-scale experiences. Feast is a short video showing a ritual meal that takes place in a gorge of the Gobi Desert. The washed out limestone colours of the desolate landscape were an otherworldly backdrop for what was clearly a highly personal gathering. And in a darkened room, I comfortably sunk into the cushions of a Chesterfield sofa and silently watched people carefully navigate the stepping stones crossing a Kyoto river. Nothing else was shown about the city or the individuals, but it was soothing and meditative, which I imagined was how it would feel to follow in their footsteps.
The works are primarily video, which often demands a level of commitment that viewers rarely have. And while a few works were somewhat hard to focus on if you tuned in halfway through, most of the works were short and easy to digest. I could watch humourous clips from Tsui Kuang-Yu all day long. He rappels down rubbish heaps, goes bowling for pigeons and waves the checkered flag at rush hour London traffic. These short sight gags are incredibly amusing not just because they’re ridiculous, but for what they reveal about the compromises we make for a city living lifestyle.
My favourite work was the sole interactive installation: Taiwan Sound Map Project by Wu Tsan-Cheng. 13,522 red dots appear on a navigable computer map, each one an individual sound. Recorded over a period of ten years, they let you listen in to bustling train stations, lakeside wildlife and items being scanned at a grocery checkout. One clip was even recorded on a Pacific Airways plane 30 min prior to landing in Taipei. The background sounds and languages I didn’t understand reminded me of free time on international business trips when I would wander the streets alone, absorbing a foreign atmosphere.
I naturally found myself drawn towards the works that showcased areas with which I was familiar, and in every instance I saw and learned something new. But even if you’ve never left your neighbourhood you’ll get the benefit of the show, because the intention isn’t for you to walk away with an encyclopaedic knowledge of any one or more cultures, but to see that myriad differences exist, and possibly develop an interest to further explore the variety.
Plan your visit
‘STATE-LESS’ runs until 09 April. Entry is FREE.
Visit twotempleplace.org and follow @twotempleplace on Instagram for more info about the venue, including opening days & times.
Visit kakilang.org.uk and follow @kakilangarts on Instagram for more info about the Kakilang charity, which was previously known as Chinese Arts Now.
Contributing Artists
Tiffany Chung (Vietnam/US) — @tiffanychungzz
Jess Lau (Hong Kong) — @_laujessie
Natalie Lo Lai Lai (Hong Kong) — @sqlai
Donald Shek (UK) — @donshi
Wu Tsan-Cheng (Taiwan) — @soundtaiwan
Wang Wei (China/UK) — @wangweiphotos
Li Yongzheng (China) — @li_yongzheng
Law Yuk-Mui (Hong Kong) — @yukmuier
Robert Zhao Ren Hui (Singapore) — @robert_zhao
Tsui Kuang-Yu (Taiwan) — @kuangyutsui
The exhibition is conceived and curated by designer, artist and Kakilang Associate Artistic Director Ling Tan (@ling_ql) in collaboration with Two Temple Place.
🖼️ Want more art? Visit the What’s On page to see a list of recommended shows, sorted by closing date. Don’t miss ‘em!