In the upcoming Art Central Hong Kong 2024, Warin Lab Contemporary communicates the idea of sustainability and environmental conservation through an inventive curatorial projects “Transcend” by Jarupatcha Achavasmit.
“Transcend” is a 2 part project. The first part is a collaborative effort where Jarupatcha Achavasmit took the artwork of Sakarin Krue-On onto her loom and weaved into it a new life. After Sakarin’s site-specific photographic installation entitled “Chronicle of the Landscape” at Warin Lab Contemporary had come to an end, the gallery was safekeeping the exhibit materials. As time has gone by, one question grows louder: what will become of an artwork when it has already delivered what was primarily expected of it?
Warin Lab Contemporary’s mission is to communicate the idea of sustainability and environmental conservation through inventive curatorial projects. “Transcend” project demonstrates the tangible action where the contemporary art sector can contribute to the reduction of carbon footprint.
In part I, Jarupatcha deconstructs Sakarin’s gigantic photographic canvas into long stripes and reconstructs them into a new form while incorporating other meaningful materials. With sustainable fiber art as her forte, Jarupatcha digs into her inventory of innovative recycled fabrics. She works closely with the frontline of waste sorting as well as the scientific pursuit to transform the raw materials to the new possibilities they could achieve. Each stripe of Sakarin’s obsolete artwork is weaved together with recycled yarn from PET plastic bottles. She also interlaces stripes of soft fabric that are made from recycled metals such as copper, brass and stainless steel to create metal veins in the artwork. To generate a unique pattern on the metal fabrics, Jarupatcha stains the brass fabric with tea as the material can absorb pigment while she scorches the stainless steel fabric to create a vibrant pattern as a result of heat.
The work titled “Mutation” preserves the visual of Sakarin’s photography of man-made terrains in Ratchaburi province where mountains are dynamited to produce gravels. The monumental piles of gravel become a new mountain itself. The landscape was irreversibly transformed.
In the work titled “Colony”, Jarupatcha deconstructs Sakarun’s 8.5 x 3.5 m. photograph into 18 pieces of hanging objects. She layers copper powder to create metallic patina on the back of the Sakarin’s canvas using electroplating technology. This enables the artwork to be installed midair where front and back are visible.
In part II, Sakarin’s canvas is entwined with another discarded medium but this time from the agricultural sector that inevitably makes its way into the ocean. Frequent herself on the beach, Jarupatcha witnesses a number of fertilizer bags at the bottom of the seabed. As they are filled with heavy sand, the waves can no longer push them ashore. These plastic debris were fished out of the ocean and were given a new context. Washed out of any colors by the seawater, the plain white fertilizer bags are weaved with Sakarin’s stripes of canvas as well as brass, copper and stainless steel fabrics.
Within the booth, there is also a video footage of how the debris are found, the recycling technology and the creation process in both scientific and artistic avenues to engage the audience at a deeper level.
“Transcend” project aims to convey the idea that as time progresses, more obsolete objects are left to adrift aimlessly; but when mindfully salvaged and treated, they can evolve to a new life. As an alternative to appreciating the art installation of “Transcend”, one can regard it as an enterprise that had undergone a rite of passage. Jarupatcha continued Sakarin’s legacy by interacting and reinterpreting in both material and conceptual states.
Nature is extremely resilient; regardless of life condition, it has the ability to rebalance and rebound. On the other hand, non living objects cannot heal themselves. Humans are, therefore, needed in this equation towards sustainability. Imbued with the tenacity to extend material’s life, “Transcend” is a revival of the medium’s preceding cycle, a rightfully remarkable life of its own.
