ART FOR AIR

The ‘Art For Air’ exhibition is a collaborative effort between the Breath Council, the Chiang Mai Arts and Cultural Center, and various other independent art spaces, bringing together creators and artists to take part in various art projects around the public spaces of Chiang Mai.

The main objective for this project is to foster an atmosphere of cooperative discussion, leading to an awareness based on understanding that in turn creates a synergistic relationship between knowledge and compelling solutions through the use of contemporary art. To that end, Art For Air acts as a liaison between artists, creative workers, and academics to create an art exhibition that aims to produce varied perspectives regarding the issue of dust pollution and global warming.

Commissioned project
Chiang Mai, Thailand

The overall message of the exhibition will be presented through the perspective of a city within the forest. By looking at the issue through the symbolism of the forest, we will be able to get a more transparent look at the causes of these problems.

Whether it be in terms of energy, industry, agriculture, or even human behaviors, the root cause of all these challenges arises from our intrusion of the forest. In the stream of contemporary art of today and tomorrow, it is believed that the environment will increasingly become a central subject, with ties to social issues, politics, and culture, and will only increase in significance to become a focal point of history and civilization. Art isn’t simply an expression of visual beauty, but also the beauty of perspectives and realizations, with practical actions and research taking the place of aesthetics as we know them.

Art For Air is an attempt to peer into the future of not just the field of contemporary art, but also the quality of the air we breathe through the musings of the artists; whether it be in the form of alternative energy sources, the critique of city layouts that give rise to the issue of dust particles, the cultural management of fire, or any other number of concepts. These deliberations will give rise to new solutions, viewpoints, and theories that can be expressed through the language of contemporary art, which anyone can agree is at its strongest when used for the betterment of society, the economy, or culture, allowing us to realize and pass on new possibilities that can allow our collective communities to confidently move forward towards the future.

Art for Air Website

AIR SERIES

Series title: AIR

Work title: Vacuum, 3 Channels Video, 2021

In Vatanajyankur’s new performative video series titled ‘Air’, she explores her continuing “Body as Objects” methodology to address the state of polluted air. Within her 3 videos, Vatanajyankur transforms her body into a vacuum as an interpretation of lungs breathing in ‘air’.

Vatanajyankur constructs a makeshift house to highlight the invasive result of air pollution which imitates the reality of ‘dust’ pollution. Using a living space as a factor, she challenges the idea of ‘assumed’ safety. The structure of the architectural space is compared to the corporeal which acts as a container; an outer skin. The interior, on the other hand, resembles the internal organs such as the human lung. In other words, the constructed house is itself the human body.

Through her juxtaposition of colorful-like palette and satirical nature, the vacuum absorbs dust until the vibrance and brightness is finally seen. Brightness is a recognition of optimism while dust indicates desaturation. In symbolic of hope and death, Vatanajyankur attempts to story tell the message of universality of life and dust.

The visual imagery of dark to bright and blur to sharp which occurred through an intensive and repetitive action of breathing examines the reflection of human conditions such as existence and death, labour and work, effort and struggle. In a crucial manner, ‘Air’ is a criticism towards the nature of ignorance, the severity of the situation, and emphasis for environmental concerns.