Talking Contemporary

Welcome back! In this special episode, I sat down with Indonesian-Australian artist and researcher Tintin Wulia. Tintin wore many hats over the course of her artmaking journey. Before becoming an artist, she was previously trained as a musician, composer, and architect. Tintin’s journey in making art had many unexpected turns, but she has always been guided by her passion for learning and embracin...

In this episode, I sat down with my good friend artist and painter Zico Albaiquni. I spent the day at Zico’s and his wife, Ayas’ house as they settled down in their new home in Melbourne, Australia. We spoke about his experiences growing up in a family of artists, his daily routine as a father of two young kids, and the power of gratitude, creativity, and reflection in life and artistic practice....

Our lives revolve around time. Collectively, time can be a set duration or norm like working 9 to 5. Time can be a form of value like the saying ‘time is money’. Time can also transcend different dimensions – the past, present, and future. Time is the one thing that we hold on to, but can’t always control. When doing creative work, I often find myself having to slow down. Thoughts, ideas, and even...

Let’s take a moment to reflect on the word ‘belonging’. What does it really mean and why do we want it so badly? What does it mean to belong to a community, to a culture, to a state, and to the world? Do we ever really, truly belong somewhere?  For this episode, I invited artist James Nguyen who is based in Naarm, Melbourne. James works with video, writing, collaboration, and social performances....

The stories we hear growing up have great power over us. From folklore, and fairy tales, to anecdotal moments, shared in fragments by our family members, these stories are essentially imagined memories that are always created and re-remembered in ways that speak to the present. Memories of migration, displacement, conflicts, and racism, can be difficult to understand when we have not directly expe...

What is Southeast Asia? To what extent do we identify as ‘Southeast Asian’? In this episode, I spoke with Singaporean artist, researcher, and philosopher Ho Tzu Nyen. We spoke about what sparked Tzu’s interest in Southeast Asia and how this has resulted from investigating his own identity. One of his most renowned works is the Critical Dictionary of Southeast Asia, an online interactive dictionary...

For the longest time, art and storytelling have gone hand in hand. From caveman drawings, myths, folklore, and architecture, the stories passed down for generations, from our parents, grandparents, and ancestors, are testaments to human history and become a shared language that changes and adapts through passing time. Our stories never leave us. In this conversation, I’m joined by Balinese artist,...

The saying “A picture’s worth a thousand words” speaks to the multiplicity of stories, ideas and perspectives in an image. Every place, every object, every being has a story within them. And when they are stitched together in a series of images (or moving images), we are invited to reflect more deeply on what is visible and invisible. In this conversation, I invited my good friend, artist, and fil...

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...

Do you ever wonder where our best ideas and inspiration come from? Is there a way for us to spark and sustain our creative juices? In this episode, I sat down with Thai-born, Melbourne-based artist Vipoo Srivilasa and we spoke about the importance of routines and finding ideas and inspirations from everyday objects. We also spoke the meaning of happiness in his practice as well as the pressures an...

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...

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...

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,...

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 celebr...

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 que...

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 arti...

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 ‘n...

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. talkingcontemporary.com Follow us on Instagram: @talking.contemporar...