COLLECTIONS
"Here and There" by Sumi Eiji and Chol Janepraphaphan, 2018
Single-channel video, HD video, colour, sound
All images courtesy of the artists
An artwork elaborated by seesaw, also known as a teeter-totter. This installation tilts up and down with the balance of weight of the participants according to their place on the platform. It is the classical physics law that an action at one point has an influence at another point. The turning effect of a force is called the moment of the force and is found by multiplying the force by its distance from the pivot. According to the number of the people and their locations, there will be various ways which the balance can shift with the physical sensation of the critical mass.
Playground has become an interesting artistic object in exploring the political landscape when a Japanese artist Eiji Sumi showcases his installation Here and There. Sumi originally created artwork inspired by the Thailand’s societal and political history, the lost decades of the country’s democracy from the 2003 coup d’etat, to the era of political particularism and the 2014 coup d’etat. Even though the election is believed to be both the checks and balances method for the government and the citizens and the solution of the chaos in political situation, however, in the same time the election can be perceived as the problem in the eyes of other political camp as well. Therefore, this conflict appears to be endless and directionless since then, until now. The problem is not about the ideology, since people’s thoughts cannot be changed.
We have to accept the truth that each holds to their own ideology—in what they believe in, rather than judging on the fact. Sometimes, we keep holding on to the same thoughts or ideas without considering change, but this round seesaw stage never stays still as time passes by. The stage represents the situations where we sometimes think that we are the important ones, the ones who drive this country forward, where in reality, there’s actually someone else who does the job. Also, sometimes unknowingly, we might not be standing on the same old political ideology that we think we are. Furthermore, this stage with its round shape and difficulty in deciphering which side is left or right can also represent the unclear directions or sides in politics. All in all, in the end, regardless if we are the person standing on the stage or down with others, we need to reminds ourselves that the differences are actually caused by the discourse of right or left. The differences actually depend on how we look at things.
by Sumi Eiji and Chol Janepraphaphan 2018
Video: Sumi Eiji Here and There / Play(e)scape
