Para Site

‘Cloud Chamber’ Opening Events

Date
Aug 16, 2024
Time
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Venue

Para Site
22/F, Wing Wah Ind. Building, 677 King's Road
Quarry Bay, Hong Kong
‘Cloud Chamber: Central Highland Journey’, 2024, commissioned by Para Site, Hong Kong and T:> Works, Singapore｜「魂霧跡：中部高原旅程」，2024年，由香港Para Site藝術空間及新加坡T:> Works共同委託。

The first institutional exhibition of Art Labor and collaborators, ‘Cloud Chamber’, opens at Para Site this week. This Friday 16 August, join us for the opening reception and on Saturday 17 August for an artist sharing.

 

Fri 16 Aug
6–8pm: ‘Cloud Chamber’ Opening Reception
7pm: Live Musical Performance by Artist R Cham Tih

 

As a multi-instrumentalist who has mastered Central Highlands music, R Cham Tih continuously experiments with new inventions and adaptations of traditional instruments to preserve and evolve Jrai music heritage. At the opening of ‘Cloud Chamber’, Tih will play traditional instruments such as K’loong Put and Klek Klok in a live performance that evokes the rich soundscapes of the Central Highlands.

 

Sat 17 Aug
3pm: ‘Unravelling the Chaos and Connections in the Central Highlands and Beyond’—Sharing by Art Labor and Collaborating Artist R Cham Tih

 

Through this public sharing and gathering, Art Labor offers a glimpse into their long-term collaborative practices and projects across different non-conventional venues. The collective will unpack their collaborative methodology and creative inspirations from this ongoing journey with various collaborators.

They will be joined by collaborating artist R Cham Tih, who will share insights and personal reflections on the series of activations that took place in the Central Highlands of Vietnam in July 2024. Tih will demonstrate how to play the traditional bamboo instruments on display in the exhibition and discuss how his passion for Jrai music informs his practices.

The conversation will be conducted in English.

About the artists

Art Labor 

Founded in 2012. Lives and works in Ho Chi Minh City

Art Labor, formed by Thao Nguyen Phan, Truong Cong Tung and Arlette Quynh-Anh Tran, is an artist collective based in Ho Chi Minh City who works between visual arts and social and life sciences in various public contexts and locales. Instead of producing individual artworks, they often undertake a years-long journey during which a seed of inspiration is cultivated into a rhizome of projects. Their previous journeys include ‘Unconditional Belief’ (2012–2015), ‘Jrai Dew’ (2016–present) and ‘JUA’ (2019–present). They have exhibited widely internationally, including at the Triennial for contemporary art, Kortrijk, Belgium (2021); the 57th Carnegie International (2018); Bangkok Art Biennale (2018); ‘A beast, a god, and a line’ at Dhaka Art Summit, Para Site and Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw (2018); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2017); Asian Art Biennial, Taichung (2017); KF Gallery, Seoul (2017); Ho Chi Minh City Eye Hospital (2015); and San Art, Ho Chi Minh City (2014).

 

R Cham Tih

Lives and works in Jut village, Gia Lai province, Central Highlands, Vietnam

R Cham Tih is a Jrai musician and artist who started playing traditional musical instruments from a very young age. Tih is talented in making and improving unique ethically sourced instruments using natural material such as bamboo, to recreate the sounds of the Central Highlands. Tih devoted himself to the preservation and development of Jrai traditional music and their land. He is also a teacher who seeks to inspire the local young generation. He has participated extensively in various international music performances and tours, within Asia and beyond such as in  Australia, the UK, Finland, Korea and Germany.