XEM Collective Exhibition – Meta Far-East Asia

The main idea of the Quang Lam’s work in this exhibition is to explore the concept of the Far-East Asia in which Saigon and Singapore were essential nodes for its representation.

From wikipedia about: 

“The term first came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 15th century, particularly the British, denoting the Far East as the “farthest” of the three “Easts”, beyond the Near East and the Middle East.[..] Significantly, the term evokes cultural as well as geographic separation; the Far East Asia is not just geographically distant, but also culturally exotic.”

With time and the technological impact, how can the perception of the “Far” Asia remain or evolve, from a geographical point of view to some more diverse perspectives as the historical colonization to the advent of the new virtual space of the metaverse 

Quang Lam artworks are based on archives, maps of Asia and photography.

Part 1 – Maps from Terra Utopia

Historical maps of Asia

The artworks are made from historical maps:

• Map after Eratosthenes, Greek scholar 2nd century BC: He is particularly known for his evaluation of the circumference of the Earth thanks to a simple calculation
• Map of A. Orthelius (1527–1598): Ancient 16th-century map of Asia by Abraham Ortelius, published in Thearum Orbis Terrarum, considered the first modern atlas
• Map of Messageries Maritimes (1889): Map of the routes of the ocean liners beyond Suez with images from Mr. Barbet’s personal travel photo album (1907) on this route from Marseille to Haiphong

Ready-Made Astrolabes and Collectible Postcards

The constellations maps are presented in relation to postal mail from the beginning of the century which transited by boat between Europe and Asia.

Terra Utopia Series

This series was made on the edge of the Pacific (Quy Nhon, Vietnam).
We can consider it as fantastic visions of the lands of the Far East on which the cultures and languages of the countries crossed are superimposed. More details here

Second Part of the exhibition – Sea Level Rising

Please read the second part of the Meta Far-East – Immersive Sea Level Rising experience

More artworks and insights

Photography series – Terra Utopia

Interactive – Play the Air Skylen 3D game – UnderWater

Archives – Interiors of Steamliner Paul Lecat, Company Messageries Marititimes

Archives – First historical snapshots in Vietnam

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23 September – 29 October 2023
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts
The Ngee Ann Kongsi Galleries 1 & 2
80 Bencoolen Street
11am-7pm, closed every Mon & PH
Free admission

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