One moment into another. An atmospheric immersion. - Installation handbook

One moment into another. An atmospheric immersion. 2016 Chitti Kasemkitvatana

“Immersion (virtual reality), the state of consciousness where an immersant's awareness of physical self is diminished or lost by being surrounded in an engrossing total environment.” - Wikipedia

“The name (immersion) is a metaphoric use of the experience of submersion applied to representation, fiction or simulation. Immersion can also be defined as the state of consciousness where a visitor (Maurice Benayoun) or immersant (Char Davies)'s awareness of physical self is transformed by being surrounded in an artificial environment; used for describing partial or complete suspension of disbelief, enabling action or reaction to stimulations encountered in a virtual or artistic environment. The degree to which the virtual or artistic environment faithfully reproduces reality determines the degree of suspension of disbelief. The greater the suspension of disbelief, the greater the degree of presence achieved.” - Wikipedia

The term atmospheric immersion is taken from Back and forth – Atmospheric immersion and awareness of reality in Sandra Karina Löschke’s article entitled Material aesthetics and agency: Alexander Dorner and the stage-managed museum, published in Interstices #14 - Immaterial Materialities. http://interstices.ac.nz

“In the back and forth between immersion and self-awareness, Dorner recognised the phenomenon of what he referred to as an evolutionary psychology in action (Cauman 1958: 88). The alternation between empathic identification on one hand, and rational recognition of reality on the other hand, materialised as the actual innovation of Dorner’s curatorial ethos. With it, he recast fundamental assumptions about the reception of art as either rational (via distanced contemplation and visual) or empathic (via experiential immersion and haptic) by providing immersive changes and interruptions that encouraged a critical reception rather than the delivery of pre-mediated content.” - Sandra Karina Löschke

Everyday utensils, 2014, 2016 Mixed media installation For the installation at Art Center - Silpakorn University, the exhibition curator, Kamolwan Boonphokaew, was invited to re-arrange the piece in dialogue with the artist.

Originally Blossom out & die… Everyday utensils (original title) was created for a group exhibition Seymour curated by Elodie Royer, Yoann Gourmel and Bruno Persat at CEAAC, Strasbourg “The piece Blossom out & die… Everyday utensils, which was specially created for the exhibition (Seymour), is based on memories of artworks produced by the artist during his monastic existence in a Buddhist retreat in northern Thailand. Inspired by these works, which were destroyed, the piece consists of two parts : five monochromes made of acrylic painting in a row of bamboo (Blossom out & die) and a handmade wooden box containing printed notes, acrylic paintings, candles and tacks (Everyday utensils), like a toolbox enabling the return to the origin of this work and its reproduction.” - Royer, Gourmel and Persat

Untitled (Rebuilt), re-enacted with a twist, 2016 Laser engraving on mirror acrylic sheet 补空 (pronounced bu-kong, meaning fill the void)

The original piece Untitled (Rebuilt), 2013 was a collaborative project with volunteers at Guangdong Times Museum, Guangzhou, for a group exhibition One Step Forward, Two Steps Back - Us and Institution, Us as Institution, curated by Biljana Ciric.

Biljana Ciric: You were invited for exhibition to come and do research in Guang Zhou to produce new piece. I remember at the very beginning before actually coming to Guang Zhou you were very interested with an idea of everyday. How did it “Untitled (Rebuilt)” project develop?

Chitti Kasemkitvatana: “Untitled (Rebuilt)” project is constructed from my observations and readings of Guangzhou. During 3 weeks stay, I took a position of a wonderer / a mute tourist, drifting though the city from one place to another. By doing so, I started to accumulate pieces of its urban tectonics, its history and its “everyday”.

I’m pretty much interested in the process of viewing, reading/interpreting and interacting with space/place and how these experiences alternate our perception and understanding. Moreover, how to transmit and articulate coherently the outcome of this process in a work of art.

With a group of volunteers at Times Museum, I have shared my observation and experiences, which is an extension from a monologue to conversation. My process to construct this piece for Times Museum is, firstly, creating meditative space for myself; exchanging viewpoints, then creating an open platform for discussion.

Biljana Ciric: “Untitled (Rebuilt)” has two parts and somehow it is going to be developed into the ongoing project hoping to provide new dynamics within the museum as well as creating kind of community around it. Can you tell us about your thinking behind it?

Chitti Kasemkitvatana: It started from my curiosity and doubt whilst visiting Guangxiao Temple (Temple of Bright Filial Piety) and other places. I have learnt that during the Cultural Revolution in China in the late 60’s, religious artifacts and places had been destroyed, many artifacts had been dumped into the sea, etc… It lead me to question whether what stood in front of me was the real/ original or it was a duplicated version that rebuilt after that period. Beside, whilst surfing on internet for more information, I found nothing to fill the missing piece of history. Even on-site infoboard, the timeline of many places seemed to leave out the 60’s. Once in a meeting with volunteers and talked with few persons, I have learnt that this doubt was not mine alone.

So, I proposed the volunteers, then the curator to construct an archive of oral history/story of Guangzhou. It may be pass-on story within family, rumours, some story that has been around but never be official or recorded, or, some thought/reflection of curtain subjects and/or places that might be muted. The archive could be materials for interested body for further research.

One thing after another Event #1 - La Seine un dimanche (10/06/2012) re-enacted with addition, 2016 Acid engraving on brass coin, photographs in acrylic cube with stainless steel frame, table à tapisser

One thing after another was a series of events/interventions constructed and articulated one after the other in Paris. Originally, created for a group exhibition Le Mont Fuji n'existe pas, curated by Elodie Royer and Yoann Gourmel at Frac Ile-de-France / Le Plateau in 2012.

Translation of French text engraved on the brass coin: Series No. 00 - One thing after another - Spring 2012 Fifty years ago at this very spot, the wind turned into gold. Through a hand of the painter of space, seven gold ingots lies within the belly of the void.

Online announcements: la seine un dimanche event#1_transfer a brass coin to yves klein’s zone of immaterial pictorial sensibility place_pont au double 5e paris date_sunday 10/06/2012 time_08h00 Chitti Kasemkitvatana proposes Ikemizu san & The Play to transfer a brass coin to Yves Klein’s the Zone of Immaterial Pictorial Sensibility on Sunday, June 6th, 2012 at Pont au Double, 5e Paris (near Cathedrale Notre-Dame, Ile de la Cite).

-- un dimanche à la seine Sunday, June 10th, 2012 Kasemkitvatana transferred the brass coin to Ikemizu at Pont au Double, near Notre Dame de Paris, where Klein had done a few transfers of the Zone in 1962.

Xavier Franceschi, Wijane Noree, Nii Seiji, Pierre Daguin, Kyoko Kasuya, Yoann Gourmel and Elodie Royer among others were witnesses.

Before the action, Ikemizu asked everyone to touch the brass coin as a sharing gesture. “I don’t want this gold plate returning to us. I wish it will go back to the nature. In contradiction to what I just said, I wish it will be back in our life in the future” said Ikemizu.

Few minutes after 8th hour of Sunday, June 10th, 2012, Ikemizu transferred the brass coin to the Zone of Immaterial Pictorial Sensibility, fifty years after Yves Klein’s action at Pont au Double, Paris.

Drift away and fall, 2016 Series of photographic collage of Hualamphong station in Bangkok, homeless in Paris metro and Plight, 1985, an installation by Joseph Beuys (1921 - 1986) in the collection of Centre Pompidou. The exhibiting piece is an hand-held mobile unit which was activated by exhibition mediator, Annabel Amin for an intervention project at Centre Pompidou, Paris Originally, Drift away and fall was created for Encounters with Pompidou (curated by Biljana Ciric), an exhibition within exhibition Museum On/Off (curated by Alicia Knock) at Centre Pompidou, May 12th to June 13th 2016.

“In response to your curatorial text, I would like to create situation, which distinguishes itself apart from the norm of museum setting/display. I'm interested in mobility of the (art)piece and notion of transmission as a tool for presenting the piece. Within this line of thought, …, I would like to work with a mediator of Centre Pompidou. (…) The piece works as a mobile piece that drifts through exhibition rooms on the 4th floor. The piece only comes to life when the mediator establishes conversation(s) with (any) visitors.

By having an artwork attached to a mediator, my contribution plays pretty much with the exhibition title, Museum On/Off. It also relies on dynamic of that mediator, the system that operates the piece is humane. The work is actually presence and absence at once as it only come to being when the mediator puts it forward…” - the artist

One thing after another Event #2 - d’Une chambre blanche à l’espace vide (21/06/2012) re-enacted with addition, 2016 Laser engraving on acrylic sheet, digital print mounted on aluminium

One thing after another was a series of events/interventions constructed and articulated one after the other in Paris. Originally, created for a group exhibition Le Mont Fuji n'existe pas, curated by Elodie Royer and Yoann Gourmel at Frac Ile-de-France / Le Plateau in 2012.

Translation of French text engraved on the acrylic sheet: A month ago at this very spot, a girl in pink jacket was sitting, head on the knees. She sang perhaps the song about two fishes.

Series No. 01 One thing after another Spring 2012 Online announcements: d'une chambre blanche à l'espace vide event#2_from a whitewashed room to the open-air place_le plateau 19e paris date_thursday 21/06/2012 time_19h30 Chitti Kasemkitvatana proposes a casual talk with Yoann Gourmel & Elodie Royer inside the exhibition Mount Fuji Does Not Exist at Le Plateau. Besides, the second intervention will take place at Parc du Buttes-Chaumont on this date after the talk, if the weather permits. …

d’une chambre blanche à l’espace vide Thursday, June 21st, 2012 Chitti Kasemkitvatana transferred a message on fluoro pink perspex to a lady, whom he met at the talk he gave the same day at Le Plateau.

The lady opened conversation with a smile and it went beautifully. While walking to Parc des Buttes-Chaumont after the talk, we shared our thoughts on the message given to her, the mountains, life experience, art and Buddhist philosophy.

Near the empty plinth in the park, the lady held the pink perspex while Nathalie Boutin and others sang a French song about fishes.

During the sunset on the first day of summer, in Paris, the lady placed a message about a little girl in pink jacket at the place, where she was a month ago.

Human AlieNation - Exhibition title, research subject and curatorial framework

by Kamolwan Boonphokaew

Human AlieNation - Graphic print on the exhibition invitation, designed by Supphakarn Wongkaew

Human AlieNation Co-organised by The Art Centre Silpakorn University and the Faculty of Sociology and Anthropology, Thammasat University Date: 4 August - 3 September 2016 Place: The Art Centre Silpakorn University Artists: Chitti Kasemkitvatana Nipan Oranniwesna Nopchai Ungkavatanapong Wantanee Siripattananuntakul 
 Curator: Kamolwan Boonphokaew