Riverscapes IN FLUX - Ecological and Cultural Change of Major River ...

... And scroll down the page to see all artworks. This tour will take you about 10-15 minutes.



1
COUNTRY: VIETNAM
ARTIST: NGUYEN THI THANH MAI
ARTWORK: THE VESTIGES

The installation piece by Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai uses 3 cubic meters of shoes and slippers collected after heavy floods in Thua Thien Hue region.



It can be seen as a reflection of increasingly severe natural disasters happening in the land of hardship. The structure of the cube-shaped boxes of shoes and slippers arranged in an orderly manner reminds viewers of a solemn memorial to the dead. The shoes and slippers, quiet and modest, are so powerful in telling us about the fates of those who once wore them.



2
COUNTRY: VIETNAM
ARTIST: NGUYEN THE SON
ARTWORK: MOUNTAIN LINKS WITH MOUNTAIN, RIVER LINKS WITH RIVER

The subject of Son’s artwork is the Red River, the second largest river in Vietnam which, coming from China, flows through Lao Cai Province. The river is increasingly showing signs of pollution.. The project is a continuation of an earlier body of work – a series of photos showing the part of the Red River which flows through Hanoi when it was almost dried up. The installation juxtaposes these solemn photos, which are about the cold reality represented in an academic photographic language, with an ironic part - an old time propaganda slogan presented in the style of contemporary popular culture.



3
COUNTRY: VIETNAM
ARTIST: LUONG HUE TRINH
ARTWORK: BLACK CIRCLE

The floating fate of “Đờn ca tài tử” started in the ancient capital of Hue more than 400 years ago, taking root and over time becoming a cultural spirit iconic to the Mekong river delta. However, it is now being heavily affected by changes to the traditional living environment and the deformation of the relationship between mankind and rivers. The sound artwork Vòng tròn đen (Black Circle) by Luong Hue Trinh is about an uncertain love story happening under such eventful circumstances.

Put on headphones and start the palyer below to tune into Luong Hue Trinh's sound artwork.




4
COUNTRY: VIETNAM
ARTIST: PHAN THAO NGUYEN
ARTWORK: MEKONG MECHANICAL

In Phan Thao Nguyen’s video work, schools of catfish fillet swim one after another into a flow on a drying machine, creating an impressive exotic image. From another, more direct view of the Mekong Delta, her artwork presents a deep conflict between natural and cultural environment and economic development objectives, reflecting the unusual coldness of industrialized life in a catfish processing factory.




The video installation is complemented by a visual diary.





5
COUNTRY: CAMBODIA
ARTIST: LIM SOKCHANLINA
ARTWORK: RISING TONLE SAP

Lim Sokchanlina’s photography project considers the relationship between rising temperatures and water levels by staging fantastical scenes with industrial ice blocks melting against diverse backdrops of the Tonle Sap.



6
COUNTRY: CAMBODIA
ARTIST: THAN SOK
ARTWORK: MIDDLEGROUND

Than Sok, who uses everyday materials to question spiritual practices, used the metaphor of the scarecrow to share his family’s personal experience living near and being flooded by the Tonle Sap in Phnom Penh.



7
COUNTRY: CAMBODIA
ARTIST: VUTH LYNO
ARTWORK: RISE AND FALL

Vuth Lyno, who had recently curated a community sound project, was able to experiment with sound drawn from his residency with a river-based community in the flooded forest of Kompong Pluk, a flooded forest community based on the Tonle Sap River. Vuth Lyno became interested in this community’s modular and uniquely high stilted housing system that accommodates the natural annual flooding in the rainy season. The installation lets the sound-scape of the river-scape at Kompong Pluk be heard - layers of sounds from people’s everyday lives with the water, fishing, storytelling and ceremonial practices for the river spirits.



8
COUNTRY: MYANMAR
ARTIST: AUNG KO
ARTWORK: THE SIGHTS VIEWED FROM BOATS

My installation comprises three cloth boats and several wooden ones made by children from my village. Most of my work focuses on my village, including its environment and changes. The river, Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy), is the most important in our country and my village is located on its bank. As a matter of fact, the natives who live along its banks experience the changes of the river, and the results of these changes, every year. The idea of boats is that even if they move forward silently, they still have a strong, functional presence on the river. They are both about disrupting the river scenery, and about confirming the river as a place of transportation for people and goods, and as a livelihood, providing fish. In addition, giving the installation another facet, the village children provide their toy boats, the ones they usually play with. Because ready-made toys are not available in the village, they have to make the toys themselves by hand, using their own creativity.





9
COUNTRY: THAILAND
ARTIST: JEDSADA TANGTRAKULWONG
ARTWORK: CHI RIVER

Mr. Jedsada Tungtrakulwong is working in the North-East of Thailand; he started to research the folkways of the rural people and the environment. The area is reminiscent of the past era of the big capital city. People here live simple lives, reading the signals of nature and relying on each other. Even today, the people here still live happily with the river.


10
COUNTRY: THAILAND
ARTIST: SUTTHIRAT SUPAPARINYA
ARTWORK: MY GRANDPA'S ROUTE HAS BEEN FOREVER BLOCKED

Ms. Sutthirat Supaparinya focuses on the northern region of Thailand, the origin of most riverheads but also an area that faces ecological change through the construction of dams.



11
COUNTRY: THAILAND
ARTIST: ANOTHAI NITIBHON
ARTWORK: LOI KRATHONG

Ms. Anothai Nitibon and her team chose to focus on a topic which is an important factor for Thailand’s industry – Loy Krathong Festival, which reminds us to pay respect to nature.





12
COUNTRY: PHILIPPINES
ARTIST: GOLDIE POBLADOR
ARTWORK: THE FRAGRANCE OF THE MARIKINA RIVER

The main river system in Eastern Metro Manila is called the San Mateo -Marikina River (Tagalog: Ilog ng Marikina). I have lived within walking distance of the Marikina River my entire life. At present it is a struggle for me to find leisurely and pleasurable moments in my community because of the pollution of the river. The significant changes in my environment are what urged me to start my “Perfume Bar” project, which began in the year 2009 as a survey of the ecological deterioration of my city.



This particular project focuses mainly on the Marikina riverside area. After interacting and exploring with other villagers beside the river, I created three perfumes to express the situation of the people who live beside the river. This project is an attempt to use the olfactory sense of perception as a medium in fine art combined with my study of the art of glass blowing in order to create vessels for the perfumes.



13
COUNTRY: PHILIPPINES
ARTIST: JON ROMERO
ARTWORK: SOUND BRIDGE

Sound Bridge is a sound installation of circuit-bent sound devices created from low voltage electronic devices that are connected to a platform with railings to afford passage across a waterway. The railings are made of stainless steel pipes supported by a wooden post, , and produce interactive sounds when used and touched by both hands of the person walking on it. The sound sculpture is proposed to be installed as a platform across a waterway in a public park with rivers, streams or waterfalls nearby. It connects the environment, humans, and art. When a person standing above the river touches the metal parts of the sculpture, it will produce a sound. By touching the metal bars of the structural connection, the person itself is also transformed into a bridge of sonic possibilities. And this sound will catch the curiosity of other people to experience or just to know how this thing works. The public will be invited and encouraged to interact with the installation. They can control the sounds by walking across the waterway and touching the parallel metal bars resting for support at the side of the bridge. At the same time, they will be exposed to sounds of their surroundings. And then, they will notice that the sound is just attracting their attention to let us tell them about the aim of the “Riverscapes IN FLUX” project.





14
COUNTRY: INDONESIA
ARTIST: ACHMAD KRISGATHA
ARTWORK: FLOOD CANAL

The fact that some parts of Jakarta are located on a flood plain had already been acknowledged during the period of Dutch colonization. With a soil surface height of 0.5 meters above sea level by the shore and 25 meters above sea level in the south of the city, floods threaten us regularly. Furthermore, the soil surface is reduced each year, rendering 40% of DKI Jakarta – about 26.000 ha – below sea level, and thus “familiarized” with the floods.



The West Flood Canal, built in 1922, successfully controlled floods towards the Central Jakarta area for approximately 40 years. In 1973, the East Flood Canal was planned to provide flood control and a Drainage System Master Plan in DKI Jakarta. Construction did not begin until 1996. Since December 2011, 38 years after the project was approved, the East Flood Canal has been open to the public. This project responds to the long story of the East Flood Canal’s development, its interactions with the surroundings, the controversy around it and other social aspects that have arisen as a “side-effect” of development. By not trying to answer the questions and concerns, the project seeks to capture certain elements and combine them in an audio-visual integrated installation.



15
COUNTRY: INDONESIA
ARTIST: WOK THE ROCK
ARTWORK: BANDAR RAYA SNACK

The Hypostomus plecostomus or suckermouth catfish, colloquially called “sucker fish”, is a type of fish that commonly exists in Indonesia, known as “Sapu-Sapu” (Sapu = Broom) and “Ikan Bandaraya” in Malaysia. These freshwater fish are mainly placed in aquarium tanks to clean the glass, so in the aquarium world, they function as janitors. Sucker fish are not a common food; especially to people from the middle to upper classes they have a dirty connotation and are perceived as ancient-looking, muddy and inedible. However, people from the grassroots, especially the ones living along the riverside, often eat wild sucker fish, fishing them directly from muddy rivers as food of desperate measures. I am very intrigued by this fact and to see the status of sucker fish as that of a marginalized, subordinated fish while they actually play an important role in keeping the artificial water world in glass tanks clean.


Bandar Raya Cracker from Wok The Rock on Vimeo.


This project surveys sucker fish under social, cultural and economical aspects. I researched about dishes that include sucker fish created by people living along the riverside, its nutritional value, and also how it is traded. The result of the research is an installation of a food hawker kiosk selling sucker fish products, complete with brochures and video. The project involved chefs and students of nutritional and food sciences.



16
COUNTRY: INDONESIA
ARTIST: BUDI N.D. DHARMAWAN
ARTWORK: BY THE RIVER OF LOVE

The Bengawan Solo or Solo River is the longest river in Java, Indonesia, flowing through several cities from Wonogiri in Central Java to Gresik in East Java Province for about 600 km. The Bengawan Solo has been an important artery in people's lives, but it has also been a threat to their society. People living near and around the river have suffered annual floods for years, due to overflowing waters. The floods usually happen during the rainy season, when the water level rises significantly. I want to investigate how these annual floods affect the people there. I want to look into the matter and document it through photography. I'm not looking for an answer or a solution, but I try to investigate it.

For this project, I travelled overland to a number of cities along the Bengawan Solo and I took photographs of people living around the river basin area.



17
COUNTRY: INDONESIA
ARTIST: MAHARDIKA YUDHA
ARTWORK: SHIFTING LIFE OBJECTS INTO INANIMATE

The Angke River is one of thirteen rivers flowing through Jakarta City. For Jakarta's inhabitants, Angke River is connected to a long history of cultural development.

Today the river has changed. While people in the south can still take advantage of the river’s natural wealth, catching fish and mollusks or hunting for lizards, the situation is different for people living downriver in West Jakarta. Because of the bad water quality, the people here have changed their profession and are collecting metal and plastic waste.

The change described is due to a shift in urban and social structures. In the past, before the factory area in North and West Jakarta was built along the Angke’s banks, jobs in the southern region were carried out by the people living in the north of Jakarta. But as the city is changing, its development continues to shift the nature-related-jobs towards the south.

This project tries to convey the ecological change of Angke River in relation to rural, suburban and urban areas by mapping the different professions connected to the river. This change is examined under economic, cultural and social aspects.