Spirits Melt to Flesh
Curated by Sam I-shan
Site-responsive moving image, sound, sculptural and photographic installations by eight Asian artists transform the raw spaces of the Bangkok Kunsthalle through variations of light and darkness, and reverberations of sound and voices in dialogue. The building becomes a container for utterances, a site of encounter for the stories that circulate through its spaces, even as viewers are made aware of their own perceiving bodies in time. The works consider representations of regional histories and personal subjectivities by juxtaposing the bodily with the otherworldly, and excavating myths and minor narratives. They reflect the contemporary concerns of a world in transition through their intimate portraits of real and imagined beings, and speculations on alternative forms of intelligence. This exhibition meditates on how lives and societal realities are continually shaped by forces that evade full apprehension, recalling Al-Ghazali’s proposition: “This visible world is a trace of that invisible one, and the former follows the latter like a shadow.”
Prose-style text for social media or publicity:
Spirits Melt to Flesh, curated by Sam I-shan, features site-responsive moving image, sound, sculptural and photographic installations by eight Asian artists: Anthony Chin (Singapore), Daniel Hui (Singapore) HeeSue Kwon (South Korea), Hsu Che-Yu and Chen Wan-Yin (Taiwan), Lieko Shiga (Japan), Soe Yu Nwe (Myanmar) and Taiki Sakpisit (Thailand). Their works transform the raw spaces of the Bangkok Kunsthalle through variations of light and darkness, and reverberations of sound and voices in dialogue. The building becomes a container for utterances, a site of encounter for the stories that circulate through its spaces, even as viewers are made aware of their own perceiving bodies in time. The works consider representations of regional histories and personal subjectivities by juxtaposing the bodily with the otherworldly, and excavating myths and minor narratives. They reflect the contemporary concerns of a world in transition through their intimate portraits of real and imagined beings, and speculations on alternative forms of intelligence. This exhibition meditates on how lives and societal realities are continually shaped by forces that evade full apprehension, recalling Al-Ghazali’s proposition: “This visible world is a trace of that invisible one, and the former follows the latter like a shadow.”
The exhibition runs from Friday 5 June to Sunday 4 October 2026 at levels 4 and 5 of the Bangkok Kunsthalle.The exhibition is supported by the Japan Foundation.
information provided by event organizer
