Past Events
Buka Buku
Curatorial Statement
From its origins (A.D. 618 –908) as a utilitarian object, to its multitude of roles today as canvas, journal, artifact and more, the Chinese folding book presented the world with a more democratic opportunity to dive into any creative process. Including writing, drawing, documenting and other practices. As the folding book became more common place, it touched the hands of many, circulating beyond boundaries and into households, contributing to the expansion of the idea of the individual: the individual as artist and maker.
By using the Chinese folding book as a canvas, the commonplace object transforms into a physical connector of people, through encounters of reading or seeing, the folding book becomes a symbol of ritual.
“To speak of each work alone would be to take them out of their larger context of the folding book concept and so really, the books exist as a collection, and amongst them are arrays of different personalities.I have always felt that each book is the voice of the artist. The books speak. Sometimes it’s a conversation, sometimes a cacophony of different voices!”
(Mary Husted, Main curator of Open Books)
Open Books began in Wales in 2012, asking artists to express themselves within a Chinese folding book. The project has since travelled internationally, growing through boundaries by participating artists, curators, academics, and other critical thinkers. The collection of works highlights the importance of process-based making, a practice reiterated through an 8-week long pilot project called Open Books Online, that began in mid-2021. The project responded to the shift of encountering art in the virtual sphere, challenging notions of how we can connect, create, and remain open to new opportunities while being physically restricted.
Open Books Online prioritised cross-cultural collaboration and relationship building, by pairing Ang Xia Yi, Lim Eu Jin, Pangrok Sulap and Shaman Tearoom with artists from Wales, China and India. Its structure of both requiring communicating online and creating offline, offered these artist partnerships the opportunity to connect in-depth, to exchange ideas and learn about alternative creative disciplines. The result of Open Books Online is a collection of digital works that challenge the limitations of the folding book and its production through unconventional means. By originating artworks in the virtual sphere, the artworks themselves explore the issue of translating an experience from digital to physical, and the fundamental relationship between context and material.
The evolution of the folding book from physical to digital marked a turning point in Open Books’ journey, further echoing The Godown’s own values of collaboration, education, and innovation. On view is a collection of visual anecdotes and expressions, each addressing themes that include identity and society, material and process, daily life and observations, environments, and patterns. Each one being distinct and tackling unique issues, but when experienced together, reflects a global community of voices in one space.
As the world reopens, Buka Buku prompts that we too should open ourselves to new possibilities and encounters. In this case, with the array of works on display that have been stretched at length to reveal their minute details, encouraging us to expand our own perspectives of art’s extensive possibilities.
Lienne Loy
In collaboration with Open Books International (Mary Husted, Maggie James and Joe Zhu)
With special thanks to Chris Bird-Jones and Ling Hao
Exhibition design: Linghao Architects and Untitled (Tey Khang Siang)
Click here to view digital works from Open Books Online.
WORKSHOPS AND ARTIST TALKS
In addition to the exhibition, BUKA BUKU will be organising workshops and artist talks that are open to the public, with pre-event registrations.
11 - 12 Dec 2021
Woodcut Printmaking with Pangrok Sulap
18 Dec 2021
Re-Looking At The World From My Bedroom: A sharing session with photographer, Ang Xia Yi
19 Dec 2021
Making, Drawing and Building: A sharing session with Lim Eu Jin
8 & 9 Jan 2022
Interactive performances by Shaman Tearoom
Supported by MyCreative Ventures and Arts Council of Wales
