Chocolate experience workshop
-
25 April 2024
RELATED:
An exercise in mourning, Part II
– with Guy Cools
– with Guy Cools
This is the final segment of our two-part event accompanying the exhibition In absence, presence. This online panel brings together Guy Cools (dance dramaturg and author of Performing Mourning: Laments in Contemporary Art), Bill Nguyen (Director of Nguyen Art Foundation and the exhibition’s curator), participating artist Lena Bui (Vietnam) and invited guest artists Eliana Otta (Peru) and Sarah Boutin (Canada) for a discussion on mourning as a lens to engage with social, ecological and political realities.
While some artworks in In absence, presence delve into personal grief in a direct and intimate manner, Lena Bui’s contributions open up conversations about other ways of living with and relating to the ecological systems we humans are inherently a part of. Inspired by both Lena’s perspective and Guy Cools’s seminal book, this panel discussion will explore the power of artistic laments, acts of remembrance, and expressions of care in alleviating grief and deepening our understandings of loss – not only within personal contexts but also as part of broader social and ecological dimensions. In the face of present uncertainties as well as future challenges that inevitably affect us all, can mourning hold the potential to inspire empathy, nurture connections and drive meaningful action? These are some of the questions that participants explored during this discussion.
_
In absence, presence is not merely a one-dimensional experience, but rather a vibrant network between actors and actants* that are interlinked and constantly interacting. In this network, materials serve as both the main and supporting actors. Positioning art as a connector rather than the sole focus, the public programs revolving around In absence, presence uses physical materials to respond to cultural and social issues beyond the white cube. Let your eyes be deceived, your sense of touch misled by illusory textures, to break down any preconceptions and embark on a journey of self-interpretation and continuous meaning-making.
This event is part of a series of public and education programs initiated by Nhi Duong in co-curation with Bill Nguyen, in association with In absence, presence, an exhibition organized by Nguyen Art Foundation.
*Bruno Latour, in Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network-Theory (Oxford, 2005)