NOVA CONTEMPORARY presents YOU LEAD ME DOWN, TO THE OCEAN by Tada Hengsapkul, curated by Thanavi Chotpradit. This is the Second Edition developed from the First Edition shown at the 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT9) at the Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia (2018-2019).
Born and raised in Nakhon Ratchasima (commonly known as Korat) where the Royal Thai Air Force and the United States Air Force were based during the Vietnam war and where the war's cultural and political legacies remain visible, Hengsapkul has an interest in investigating Cold War history and its memories as a part of his artistic creativity. Together with field research, the artist has conducted archival research in a search for official records, images and various types of publications in both the National Archives of Thailand and the private sector. Hengsapkul's discovery of information and historical narratives led to artworks that have revealed previously unfamiliar dimensions of the Vietnam War, its memories and its consequences: some imperceptible stories, and some unheard voices. YOU LEAD ME DOWN, TO THE OCEAN presents fragments of memories of the Vietnam War and its consequences, military power, traces of individuals' relationships and glimpses of perspectives from the "little people" as seen in their writings.
YOU LEAD ME DOWN, TO THE OCEAN also presents a series of public programmes and workshops as follows.
Saturday, June 8, 2019, 14.00-16.00 hrs.
Dear Love: From the Great War to the Vietnam War
A public lecture by Dr. Tul Israngura Na Ayudhya, Department of History, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University (in Thai)
Sunday, June 9, 2019, 14.00-16.00 hrs.
Dear Writing: Love Letters
A reading group and writing workshop (closed-door activity, in Thai)
Saturday, July 6, 2019, 16.00-22.00 hrs.
A Thousand Pieces
A collage workshop + Catalogue Launch + DJ TADA, DJ ELAHEH, DJ AHIVAR & DJ JIRUS
