/Pandemicship_on_AIR

/Pandemicship_on_AIR

This exhibition is the result of a bilateral Online-Artist-in-Residency program between four artists from Taiwan and Thailand for the “BOBA Project–International Exchange in Contemporary Art–Taiwan and Thailand“. However, in the face of the increasingly dangerous Covid-19 pandemic, physical cross-country art exchanges have become difficult to execute. Therefore, online exchanges have become one of the alternatives for us to establish links with distant places.  

Cloud computing has become the center of the world. By clicking on a series of seemingly meaningless codes, generated by video tools, the signals lead us across WiFi lines, across submarine communication optical fibre and into the Cloud, where we can safely meet “face to face“, and send our warm regards to the artist friends from afar. 

The exhibition title “/Pandemicship_on_AIR“ is interwoven with special symbols, symbolically mimicking the structure of a video conference link, as an invitation and key to join the audience to our exhibition during the current Covid-19 pandemic. “On AIR“ gives a sense of exhibition is live streaming. “AIR“ is also the abbreviation of the main theme of the exhibition––Artist-in-Residency. Throughout the month-long residency, each week we shared and discussed different aspects of Tai-Thai traditions and customs, contemporary art, environmental issues, film and local sounds through thematic online chats, guided tours of our studios and even visited a large second-hand market in Chiang Mai, exploring the complex social and historical transitions of Thailand through second-hand goods. 

本次展覽為「BOBA Project 當代藝術國際交流計畫——台泰篇」台灣與泰國兩地共四位藝術家雙邊線上駐村之成果聯展。交流是為了更瞭解彼此並建立連結，然而，面對日益險峻的Covid-19疫情，實體的跨國藝術交流也難以推進，線上交流成為了我們與遠方建立連結的替代方案之一。

雲端線上成為了世界的中心，透過點擊一串由視訊工具所生成、看似無意義的亂碼所構成的網址，訊號帶領我們穿越wifi線路、橫越海底光纖、直達雲端，我們在雲端上得以安全地「面對面」，關照遠方新認識的藝術家朋友。展覽名稱「/疫同on_AIR」穿插著些許特殊符號，象徵性地模仿了視訊會議連結網址的結構，如同邀請觀者在疫情當前能一同參與的邀請函、鑰匙。「on AIR」除了有展覽放送中的含義外，「AIR」亦是本次主軸「Artist-in-Residency」（藝術家進駐）的縮寫。在為期一個月的駐村期間，每個禮拜透過天南地北主題式的線上聊天會，我們從台泰的傳統習俗、當代藝術、環境議題、電影到在地聲響等不同切片相互分享、交流討論，並導覽了各自的工作室，甚至線上遊覽了清邁的大型二手市集，從二手商品中一探泰國複雜的社會與歷史遷移。