Mami Kataoka Superposition

The 21st Sydney Biennale titled SUPERPOSITION: Equilibrium and Engagement is argued to reflect the changing dynamics of the contemporary art world through the dynamic nature of Superposition. This superposition proposed by Artistic Director Mami Kataoka is claimed to be present through various interactions between elements present in everyday life. These elements include the interactions of varying cultural and political entities and ideologies and their interpretations of “human history” . These interactions, through the rising influence of globalisation have allowed for differing elements to undergo a shifting process. A process, mentioned by Kataoka as the “repeated collision, collapse and rebirth” to establish an equilibrium of understanding
By Hsu acknowledging (through film) the impossible task of accurate interpretation and both past and present, the result of his film drifts between accurate and inaccurate representation . Hsu begins by utilising his own position in society as a starting point focusing upon the lingering effects of histories and their legacies. They are localised attempts to convey stories being degraded by history restoring them through the lens of the present day . Specifically, Hsu focuses on the lingering effects of the Cold War on the small village of Huai Mo, northern Thailand . At this location, Hsu crafts a film that display two scenarios that parallel combining fact and fiction. The first scenario being the recollections and narration of a priest who worked as a confidential informant for the Central Intelligence Agency . On top of the priest’s recollections lies his recounting of the legend of Hanuman which, alongside the second scenario includes a performance of traditional Thai puppet theatre”. The video continues with the priest’s narration of his involvement with the Intelligence Agency as he is shown being recorded in a darkened studio space being provided over the Thai puppet performance. Over the course of the film, the priest’s recollection begins to merge with the priests retelling of ‘Hanuman’s journey to the
To convey this entailment of the present and future, Sareth uses inspiration from his own position in society as a starting point. Specifically, Sareth draws inspiration, utilising his life experience as a teenager residing in a refugee camp near the Thai-Cambodian border due to the Cambodian civil war and the events aftermath . Through these experiences, Sareth has centred his art making practice, focusing around various aspects of war including survival, loss and power. He achieves his art making practice primarily by repurposing everyday objects to explore “contemporary issues within and beyond Cambodia’s borders” . As seen in Prendre les Mesures, 2015, Sareth documents himself undergoing a performance piece using a repurposed object at the location of Angkor Wat, Cambodia. The object, a large needle, purposely used as a mending tool for damaged rice sacks after overuse, has been repurposed to measure the causeway at Angkor Wat’s entrance. Alongside this performance the needle Sareth uses is also on display. The performance by Sareth measured the length around 7315 needle’s worth in distance in an 8-hour durational period performance. Accompanying the documented performance is also the title itself. The title, containing double meanings, initially states “to take measures”, however, it is also interpreted as “to