I went to Brisbane for a family xmas and visited the new Gallery of Modern Art with my Mum, Dad and nephew Riley Roo. The Asian Biennale was on, one of my favourite exhibitions. Contemporary art from Europe seems so cynical in comparison to the strong social and political vitality I saw here.
The artwork pictured is called Problem-Wisdom 1993-95, the small sculptures are made by the Thai artist Kamin Lertchaiprasert. Every day for a year, he selected an article from a Thai newspaper, pulped the remaining paper and made a small hand-sized object that responded to the reported problem.
The following year, he systematically revisited each object and meditated on a solution. The solution (or wisdom) was inscribed in calligraphy on the object. Inherent in this work is the Buddhist and Daoist belief that everything in life ― good and bad, right and wrong ― exists in balance.
Lertchaiprasert uses the daily rituals of reading, meditation and art-making to bring this balance into being. The installation is a poetic contemplation of a meeting between Buddhism and contemporary Thai experience. It exemplifies Lertchaiprasert's process-based art practice as it overlaps with his life and philosophy.
The following year, he systematically revisited each object and meditated on a solution. The solution (or wisdom) was inscribed in calligraphy on the object. Inherent in this work is the Buddhist and Daoist belief that everything in life ― good and bad, right and wrong ― exists in balance.
Lertchaiprasert uses the daily rituals of reading, meditation and art-making to bring this balance into being. The installation is a poetic contemplation of a meeting between Buddhism and contemporary Thai experience. It exemplifies Lertchaiprasert's process-based art practice as it overlaps with his life and philosophy.
This work has been acquired by the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane.
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