We are back! One of the biggest questions that came out of our first season is how do we define “Southeast Asia”? Where is Southeast Asian art and creative practices? For this second season, we want to reflect and interrogate what constitutes the region beyond its geographical borders and especially considering movement and migration. So in addition to having guests from Southeast Asia, we are now also featuring conversations with Southeast Asian-Australian creatives. In this series, we talked about how to work with ideas and finding joy and sense of purpose through our creative practices. We hope you enjoy this new series!

In this conversation, I’m joined by artist, Educator, and Musician, Made Bayak based in Bali, Indonesia. Over the last ten years, his ongoing series of projects Plasticology (which combines the words ‘plastic’ and ‘ecology’) have critically responded to issues of plastic waste in Bali and its impacts towards the environment, cultural rituals, health, and education. We talked about the developments of Plasticology and how the concerns related to our environment are very much entwined to our culture, traditions, and ways of being. He shared about the importance of revisiting ancient knowledge that has for so long respected the environment in developing new rituals, and the power of art in bringing communities together to take action.

Full podcast notes: https://talkingcontemporary.com/episodes/MadeBayak

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In this episode I’m joined by Abhijan Toto and Rosalia Namsai Engchuan from The Forest Curriculum. The Forest Curriculum is a multi-platform project for research and mutual co-learning around the naturecultures of Zomia, which is the forested belt that connects South and Southeast Asia. They first came together through a shared interest in film and cinema and have continued to organize exhibitions, public programs, performances, video, and multimedia projects. In this conversation, we talked about the importance of making space for discussions, slowing down time in building relationships, and how we can work sustainably together. We also talked about some of the challenges they faced working and researching collectively, one of which is the idea of collectives and collectivity being overly 'romanticised' in the arts especially in relation to Southeast Asia.

Full podcast notes: https://talkingcontemporary.com/episodes/forestcurriculum

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Do you know that feeling of being fully immersed in the process? Whether it's creatively like when we’re writing, drawing, or dancing, or even when we’re running or going for a hike, we can find moments of absolute freedom in the process. Art making is so much like that for Cambodian artist Sopheap Pich. Sopheap is widely known for his large, immersive sculptures primarily made out of bamboo, rattan, beeswax, burlap, and earth pigments. In this episode, we talked about Sopheap’s process of starting with an object and allowing for its possibilities to grow and expand into form in his sculptural works. It’s such a rich and inspiring conversation about process, labour, and finding freedom in making art.

Full podcast notes: https://talkingcontemporary.com/episodes/sopheappich

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In this episode, I’m joined by Singapore-based artist Alecia Neo. I came across her Care Index project that collects and brings together diverse stories and practices of care performed by people from all walks of life. The Care Index invites us to perform a gesture of care in video or audio form, which is later archived online on careindex.net. Notions of self-care and caring for others are not ‘new’ revelations, but they certainly have taken centre stage in recent times. In this heartfelt conversation, we spoke about the different experiences of care especially through the lens of caregivers. We talked about empathy and listening and the importance of staying connected and grounded ultimately asking: What does it mean to listen? What does it mean to be invited to enter someone's story? Tune in to our conversation to hear some of our answers (spoiler alert: tiger balms and our mom’s cooking are involved).

Full podcast notes: https://talkingcontemporary.com/episodes/alecianeo

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In this episode, I’m joined by Vuth Lyno and Lim Sokchalina (or Lina for short) to talk about the beginnings of Sa Sa Art Projects and how they first came together in the now-demolished White building in Phnom Penh. It’s always interesting to hear from artist collectives on how they operate together as a group, where decisions are made collectively whilst also maintaining their own individual artistic practices. We also talked about the importance of artist-led arts education and what it means to teach contemporary art. There are lots of inspiring moments in this conversation and be sure to tune in to the end where we got a little bit too excited over our love of food and the epic-sounding Cambodian sandwich ‘nompang’.

Full podcast notes: https://talkingcontemporary.com/episodes/sasaartprojects

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In this episode, I’m joined by Bangkok-based artist Kawita Vatanajyankur. In this conversation, we talked about Kawita’s beginnings as an artist asking the question: what is beauty? And in turn what is ugliness? Where is the line between beauty and ugliness and most importantly who defines them? Kawita’s move to Thailand was also a big turning point in her artistic practice where she starts to question the different societal standards of labor, beauty, and the role of women particularly in Asia. This investigation led to her series of endurance performances where she manifested as household objects: a sponge, a dustpan, a mop, an ice shaver amongst other things.

Full podcast notes: https://talkingcontemporary.com/episodes/kawita

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In this episode, I’m joined by an artist, a good friend, and a mentor of mine, FX Harsono. I’ve known Pak Harsono for many years now and have learned so much about my own Chinese-ancestry and history in Indonesia. During the New Order in 1967, Chinese Indonesians were forced to change their names into Indonesian-sounding names and were forbidden to practice our traditions publicly including celebrating Chinese New Year. FX Harsono was only 18 years old when he was forced to change his name, an experience that he later revisited in his seminal and moving work Writing in the rain. In this heartwarming and quite emotional conversation, we talked about the power of art in uncovering hidden histories and in healing. We talked about the politics of name, what’s in a name, and what kind of meaning it carries within our identity, memory, belonging, and the ways in which we persevere and survive through history and changing times.

Full podcast notes: https://talkingcontemporary.com/episodes/fxharsono

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Listen and learn directly from artists and creatives from Southeast Asia as they share about what it means to make art in this time, and the challenges and encounters along the way.

Talking Contemporary podcast is hosted by Bianca Winataputri and produced by Reagan Susanto, Adela Saputra, Stevani Susanto, and Trivita Winataputri.

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