An exhibition that questions the future✨📸
When arrival is not just human, but a negotiation between life and borders, “Where Are We Landing” is an exhibition that questions the future of the world through the stories of refugees, horses, coconuts, fish, and tardigrades.
This exhibition borrows the concept of “landing” from the book Critical Zones: The Science and Politics of Landing on Earth (2020) written by Bruno Latour and Peter Weibel, which proposes that humans truly ‘land’ back on Earth, not as spectators from above, but as those embedded in the ‘Critical Zone’, the thin surface of the Earth where all living things depend on each other. Landing is not just a physical move, but a rethinking, an awareness of the interconnectedness, adaptability, and vulnerability of living together under overlapping powers and structures.
The exhibition “Where Are We Landing” is inspired by the concept of ‘Critical Zones’ and shifts perspectives from colonial domination of the world to listening to the stories of those who are seen as “marginalized”, whether they are refugees from war, animals used in diplomatic missions, or creatures tested in space.
The exhibiting artists include Radni Teman Belt (Bandung), Thuy-Han Nguyen-Chi (Berlin), Anurak Thanyapalit (Chiang Mai), Shiori Watanabe (Tokyo), and U Saw Yee (Kuala Lumpur/Taipei). Curated by Piranya Ajwichai, the exhibition presents stories to open up space for the complex relationship between humans, nature and colonial power, and raises new questions about arrival and existence on this planet. Details are as follows:
▪️U Saw Yee presents the story of a horse and a coconut tree, which were brought to Taiwan at the Imperial Japanese Exhibition in 1935 to symbolize the control of nature and the power of the empire.
▪️Thuy-Han Nguyen-Chi presents a film that conveys the memories of a refugee mother who traveled from South Vietnam to Songkhla Province via the South China Sea and encountered pirates, reflecting the pain, hope and struggle of crossing the border.
▪️Radni Teman Belt (Bandung) uses photography to explore the landscape of West Java and the history of the tea tree, once an ornamental plant from East Asia. Before becoming a cash crop under colonial power, reflecting the changes in ecosystems and food production structures
▪️Shiori Watanabe follows the fate of 15 bluegills that were given as diplomatic gifts from Chicago to Japan in the post-war era. The work highlights the long-term impacts these fish have, both in terms of threats to biodiversity and changes to ecosystems.
▪️Anurak Thanyapalit presents a work that questions the idea of colonization outside the world, using Tardigrades or water bears to represent small creatures sent to the moon, reflecting the process of controlling and exploiting creatures for scientific and technological gain.
"Where Are We Landing" invites us to ask questions that take us back to explore structures of power, possession, migration, and the relationship between humans and non-humans, so that we can see that the arrival of all creatures has a story, has an impact, and has the potential to change the world, both in terms of nature, culture, and politics. Viewers will leave with a clearer question: How do we live together in a world made up of repeated arrivals?
📍Exhibition location: JWD Art Space (Exhibitions by JWD Art Space)
🗓 Now on display until August 3, 2025
Visit every Tuesday - Sunday from 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM (Closed every Monday)
💵 Free admission
🚘 Parking available
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