Learning and the arts
Tian Tian Xiang Shang is a Chinese proverb that literally translates “looking up, every day” and was once a common sight at the front gate of every primary school in China during the 1950s to instil a spirit of self-reflection and self-improvement amongst the students.
Reflecting on the proverb and to show his concern at the lack of critical discourse within educational and cultural institutions, Danny Yung, the co-artistic director and founding member of Zuni Icosahedron, created a series of conceptual comics in the1970s that personified the proverb into a little boy (Tian Tian) who is constantly curious and asking an unending barrage of questions about everything and anything. Over the past 40 years, Yung has been actively involved in multifarious fields of the arts, including theatre, cartoon, film, video, visual and installation art projects that have toured more than 30 cities.
The exhibition “Tian Tian Xiang Shang: Arts is Learning, Learning is Arts” at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre from Friday (March 1) to April 12 will showcase some 200 Tian Tian figurines created by artists of various disciplines from Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Canada, Thai artists, designers and creative people from various fields have recently added almost 100 creations.
Co-organised by BACC and Zuni Icosahedron and supported by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Bangkok), the exhibition’s local participants include Patravadi Mejudhon, Dow Wasiksiri, Pratarn Teeratada, Pichet Klunchun, Twitee Vajrabhaya Teparkum, Nakrob Moonmanas, Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal and representatives from many political parties. Those visiting this exhibition are invited to create their own Tian Tian figurine.
Find out more at www.Bacc.or.th.
