ArtAsiaPacific - September - October 2022

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Are there alternatives to fighting power with power? The simultaneously whimsical and
disturbing images of ArtAsiaPacific’s cover artist for Issue 130, Thao Nguyen Phan, suggest that
there are. In her interview with associate editor Pamela Wong, Phan discusses how her
multimedia projects revisit dark chapters in Vietnam’s history through folklores, oral histories,
and prosaic accounts, and thus open official narratives up to poetic interpretation. Similarly, in
her moving-image works, Nalini Malani foregrounds the effects of war, violence, and the
repression of women while eschewing what she calls a “slogan-esque” approach. The
acclaimed multimedia artist elaborates on art’s unique functions beyond didacticism and her
preparations for her solo exhibition “Vision in Motion” at M+ in the second Feature. In Up Close,
the editors delve into recent projects by Heidi Lau, Boo Sze Yang, Monique Yim, and Serene
Hui Sze Lok. Lisa Movius, for Inside Burger Collection, reflects on the works of seminal artist
Song Dong. Profiles examine the practices of socially engaged artists Kiri Dalena and Elia
Nurvista. Imaad Majeed files a Dispatch from Colombo, where mass protests, initially sparked
by rising living costs, continue to surge through the country with unprecedented support. In the
Point, former art professor Kurt Chan argues how the pandemic could be an opportunity for
Hong Kong’s universities to revamp their methods for teaching visual arts. Where I Work visits
the Geneva studio of Mai-Thu Perret, whose sculptures and paintings speak to the experiences
of womanhood through allusions and references. For One on One, artist Jakkai Siributr pays
homage to the Gee’s Bend quilters, who use the quilt form to express their identity and
experiences, in the face of the harrowing racism of the Deep American South. Besides
encouraging us to recognize the multivalent nature of our world, the artists of this issue affirm
that there is a time to reflect and also a time to act.