Asia Triennial Manchester 2018 at HOME
Sara Jaspan, Exhibitions Editor
Celebrate the launch of Asia Triennial Manchester 2018 on 5 Oct with a free evening of art and performance at HOME. To kick things off, London-based Japanese dance and movement artist Masumi Saito will perform KOMA at 6.30 – a participatory work designed to alter the audience’s role as bystanders and reflect on notions of physicality. Manchester based artist and writer Qasim Riza Shaheen will then explore archetypes of longing and desire in his eclectic piece The day after the day before I sinned (7pm), featuring five lip-syncing brides.
We’d also recommend arriving early if you can, in time to catch the festival’s free opening panel discussion, ‘Where are you really from’, at 5pm, which will address questions such as: To what extent is the migratory experience central to Asian identities and artistic practice in contemporary art? And how do modern Asian identities intersect with current narratives around sexuality, masculinity, feminism and queerness? (Booking required.)
Looking towards the rest of ATM2018 at HOME, we’re intrigued to experience Our mother and the women who fed us rice (7pm, 6 Oct, free) – a homage to artists’ Fa & Fo’s final acceptance of their heritage, growing-up in a culture where Thai women immigrants are often stereotyped as mail order brides or sex workers. Combining film and performance, commercial pop references and deeply personal subject matter, this should be a moving, provocative and richly multi-faceted experience for all present. Before visiting Fa & Fo’s piece, make sure you have a go on The Time Machine – an interactive sculpture by Pendle-based artist and co-founder of In-Situ, William Titley, which investigates the role of popular music in collective identity and shared memories (2-6pm & 7-9pm, 6 Oct, free).
Taking us back to the more messy stage in the artistic process, Indian-born British artist Jai Chuhan will take-over HOME’s main gallery space for an entire week, converting it into an open working studio and creative refuge. Questions around the intersection between identity, gender, nature and modern technologies will fill the room, alongside sculptural objects, dancers and models. Audiences will be invited to creatively respond both throughout the course of the exhibition and during a series of free dance events (15 & 17 Oct) and life-drawing workshops (19-20 Oct). Chuhan’s solo-show Refuge will also run 15 Sep-24 Nov at Gallery Oldham.
Lastly, ‘Adventures in Super 8’ (9-23 Oct) – a mini cinema season dedicated to the early films of Japan’s punk generation – offers a rare opportunity to experience some of the early, experimental works of influential film directors, such as Tsukamoto Shinya and Sono Sion.
Asia Triennial Manchester 2018 takes place in 15 venues across the city from 5-21 Oct. Find our overall preview of the festival here.
