Participating in this year's S.E.A Focus show is akin to entering a room that turns into a live historical map, showcasing not only the past but also offering a glimpse into the future.
The showcase titled "Serial and Massively Parallel" featured a curated assembly of artworks from 22 galleries and more than 40 artists worldwide. With over 200 artworks, the majority created by artists from the Southeast Asian region, this year's exhibition curator, John Tung, described it as a "new way of recognizing the world around us."
And it truly is. The show and its participating artists used technology to give everyone a distinct and unique experience. In the "A Conversation with the Sun" installation, artists DuckUnit and Pat Pataranutaporn showcased an interdisciplinary project that showed their interest in moving images, arts, and technology.
In a statement, the artist explained that he used Chat GPT-3 to build the conversations used in the project. "These conversations, generated through GPT-3...were developed in collaboration with Pat Pataranutaporn, a technologist and a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who explores the intersection of synthetic virtual humans and synthetic biology," the statement said. "Sparked by Weerasethakul’s contemplations of the Sun as he embarked on long walks amidst nature, the artist has pushed and guided the AI to generate increasingly coherent and interesting conversations to manifest new fictions."
Meanwhile, "The Cloud Forest," a collective installation by Hélène Le Chatelier (French, based in Singapore) and Pang (Singaporean), depicts a low cloud hanging from the ceiling to mimic a cloud forest. For some, this may talk about climate and climate change, but it is more than that for the artists. As we live in a digital era, the cloud doesn't only exist in the atmosphere but also the internet space. This installation aims to raise questions about how technology shapes humanity.
"In this digital age, a lot of our lives are actually, in fact, on the cloud," Tung said. "Whether you're using Apple iCloud, Google's Google Drive, or Microsoft OneDrive, the question about using devices in the cloud is what happens in a lot of data when it starts raining?"
Then there's also the "Smiling Angels from the Sky" by Indonesian artist Heri Dono. This installation artwork is from Wayang, a complex shadow puppet theater of Java. Some first-time viewers may find the work eerie, but for Tung, who strategically positioned this work at the entrance, it is something built to set the mood for the show.
"These angels are almost flying down with people as soon as they come into the entrance way," he said. "I feel like these angles embody the central tenet of transhumanism. There's something greatly involved in something greater like futurism. But I think the interesting thing about the future is that it's actually happening right now."
These are just some of the works showcased in this year's show. But these alone are enough to make contemporary art fans wonder what more the future can offer in the artistic field with the continuous integration of arts and technology.