One of the many collateral events capturing the art world's attention in Venice is the Bangkok Art Biennale (BAB) Foundation's The Spirits of Maritime Crossing: a group exhibition bringing together 15 artists from the global south as well as performance artist virtuoso Marina Abramović.
Responding to the Biennale's theme Foreigners Everywhere, the group exhibition examines themes of displacement, diaspora and colonialism, using the ocean as a starting point for many of these ideas by rooting them not only in the everyday but in real stories by real people. Addressing complex realities, diverse cultures and histories of Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand (the countries where the artists involved are from) artistic mediums spanning painting, sculpture, mixed media and video installations are used to survey a journey from Southeast Asia to Venice through cultural and diasporic experiences - viewed through the eyes of those away from their homeland, physically and spiritually.
When looking at the exhibition in relation to this year's overarching Foreigners Everywhere theme, you'd be right to think it couldn't be more timely. However, there's another aspect to this show - curated by artistic director of Bangkok Art Biennale Prof. Dr. Apinan Poshyananda - that fits in with this year's 60th International exhibit - film. As it turns out, The Spirits of Maritime Crossing is one of many works using the art of cinema to interpret this year's theme more broadly meaning there are more art films on display in Venice than ever before.
