Speech of Jörg Löschmann, (in Thai)

Curator of Art Exhibition “Identities vs. Globalisation?” for the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Chiang Mai Art Museum, February 6th, 2004

Distinguished honourable guests:

Deputy Governor, Khun Thongchai Wongrianthong,
Sehr geehrter lieber Herr Botschafter Andreas von Stechow, respected Ambassador Andreas von Stechow, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Thailand,
Distinguished Consuls and representatives of Chiang Mai based consulates,
Reputed artists from all ASEAN countries
Dear Khun Uthit Atimana, Director of the Chiang Mai Art Museum
Distinguished guests from the Thai and Expatriate community,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends,

A question often asked to the Heinrich Böll Foundation is why we do we work so much through the channel of arts?

In answer to that question, first I would like to cite a poem written by Thai King Vajiravudh (1910 – 1925, perhaps better known as Rama VI)

“It is Art that brightens gloomy minds, heals all grieving souls world-wide.
Pleasant images gladden the beholder, whose body would accordingly be thrilled.”

King Vajiravudh strongly espoused the power of the arts and if I were to take the liberty of extending his words from the individual level to that of the society, then it becomes Art mirrors society! After all, why should serious discourse on various social stigma and situations remain the domain of politicians, scientists and community networks? Artists by definition use their sensitivity to examine their environment in multi-faceted ways with great care and imagination. This provides them with a unique and crucial role in social debates as they often anticipate developments, tensions and conflicts in their work. The reverse side of this being that the burden to provide artists with adequate conditions, and indeed finances, falls on society in general.

Since work commenced at the Heinrich Böll Foundation office for Thailand in Southeast Asia in 2000, 15 projects in arts and education have been co-operatively guided through to fruition. The most ambitious we have undertaken is this “Identities versus Globalisation?” which will be staged in two different worlds: Thailand and Germany, South East Asia and Europe. This reaching across and drawing two continents closer thus bridging the gap between two worlds – a challenge that spanned across the entire process. From the initial conception that included discussions with numerous artists and cultural representatives in the region to the exhibition design that combines varying cultural linkages, pitting holistic against linear thinking.

Here you will experience exhibits from almost 60 artists representing all 10 ASEAN countries. This includes Burma whose exclusion was at no time considered given that experience from the recent past gained from the pseudo-socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe displayed how important these information channels can be. Let me say here that the Foundation greatly regrets the decision of the Philip Morris Group of companies to debar artists from Burma from participating in their competition from 2004 onwards. Particularly given the competition constitutes a major programme for promoting art, particularly in the less developed countries of the ASEAN group, and is effectively the most important award for art in the region.

Through their works of art, the artists express themselves on an encouragingly diverse subject range within this spectrum. From political implications, cultural tensions and sources of friction through to questions of perception, the contradictory linkages between local and global - particularly from the standpoint of preserving one's own identity - to historical perspectives and the phenomena of memory as well as socio-economic dimensions and utopian visions for globalisation. This group of thematic foci constitutes the framework for outlining the content-related structure of both the display arrangement in this museum and the grouping of the artworks in the catalogue.

The diversity that strikes both the visitor to the exhibition and the reader of the catalogue may be explained by the cultural heterogeneity of the region itself. Here, in a relatively narrow geographical area are countries that bear the imprint of Theravada Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Confucianism or Mahayana Buddhism. Also the forms of state and political systems prevailing in the region could not be more different from each other. From states with a long constitutional tradition to others embarking on their first steps towards democracy; countries in transition with a political landscape determined by a post-socialist party or those who live with a military dictatorship. The extreme disparities in development both from the social and economic perspectives, as in the case of the two neighbouring countries of Thailand and Burma, also contribute to this contradictory and perhaps disjointed picture presented regionally.

Another important goal we have set ourselves with this exhibition is to represent the discussion on the theme of the exhibition as authentically as it is engaged in the region. A particular concern here was to ensure authenticity in the representation of these discussions so that the exhibition could bring out the reflective, anticipative and intensely expressive powers of the fine arts and their significant role in awareness-forming processes. A remarkable fact in this regard is that more than one-third of the art works displayed on this theme, or related aspects, had already been executed or were in the process of being conceived before this exhibition project was made public in March 2002.

But getting back to the works of art themselves: both the selected works as well as the numerous others considered during the process demonstrate strong reflection of country-specific elements - which in effect is not surprising. In the Philippines, many artists are quite obviously occupied with the issue of their country being swamped by foreign influences as a result of close alliances with the USA. In exploring this question they try to analyse the extent of the problem and expose the causes; whilst pursuing elements that can strengthen indigenous identity.

The focus of the Cambodian artists is predominantly questions how the country - after 25 tragic, chequered years of history - can be modernised to provide sufficient space to revive indigenous traditions and also develop new elite, one that is capable of providing the country with structures of government that enable a self-determined course of development. With the advent of globalisation and its rapid channels of communication, these 'empty spaces and areas' fill quickly with patterns of life, behaviour and consumption that have come to dominate in the West and beyond, time afforded to dwell on local patterns and develop them often being crowded out. One tried and tested means of countering the fears and the feeling of inferiority in present-day Cambodians, following decades of isolation, maybe the glorification of the 11th and 12th century prime of Khmer civilisation.

By contrast, the works of artists from Singapore reflect the high degree of integration that the city-state has achieved within the channels of trade and communication. Conflicts, competition, the problem of migration are individualised, intensified and often presented with bitter irony.

Thailand’s artists critically examine developments within the country itself with an obvious degree of intensity, often uncompromising and laced with contradictory viewpoints. In doing so there remains a serene feel, devoid of bitterness or fear of grave dangers. Whilst the artworks from Malaysia reflect the multiethnic composition of the country in the heady diversity of subjects they discuss and in the aesthetic solutions they seek. Interestingly enough, both works dealing with Islam address questions of perception emanating from the outside, from other cultures.

In the contributions from Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, that is to say, from the less developed countries of the region, along with those from Brunei; there is often a visible ambivalence towards globalisation. The opportunities thrown up by social exchange are recognised alongside the extended prospects for the individual. Despite this globalisation is a perceived with trepidation, as a massive threat containing the potential to destroy the values that give orientation to both the individual and the community, erasing the historically evolved traditions and the distinctively national characteristics from which they gain so much pride. It is like a 'hurricane that sweeps across everything in its path and extinguishes the little oil lamps with their delicate, flickering flames'.

On the whole it may be recognised in many artworks, questions of modernisation and globalisation go hand in hand. That questioning of political, economic and cultural developments in the present-day world - leads to criticism of the dominant social form itself - whether intentional or otherwise. Ultimately what is at issue is a balance between capital and society, a balance that has to be achieved (and striven for) afresh, time and again.

The subject is of a vital nature. It moves, touches, affects… At times it sends a stab through your heart. It provokes discussion and conflict that is simply unavoidable. Sometimes it leaves you feeling wretched in the aftermath but often you emerge, benefited. As the individual expands, his world expands. But for that he needs courage – the courage not to gloss over his own history, personal and social, but rather to discover beauty in it. Truly, it is a remarkable journey of revelation on which he embarks.

On behalf of Heinrich Böll Foundation, I would like to thank all the artists and the co-operation partners and supporters in all the countries for their commitment and efforts to make this exhibition so challenging, enjoyable and multifaceted. I want to particularly thank the team of Khun Manop Sathaglan, a local carpenter workshop here in Chiang Mai for their great support and creativity, the team of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, particularly Khun Pichet, Khun Sothon and Maren Orgus, some foreign volunteers, who joint the build up process after coming by the Art Museum and the team of the Museum for all the efforts taken particularly in this last week building up the exhibition. Thank you all very much for your support and interest.