red cube series

01:

playground

   a sculpture of light, sound, air and water 

   a sublime space of relaxation and play

site-specific art

   on the bank of chao praya river,

   in front of the santa cruz church,

   kudee chine district of bangkok, thailand

12-26 jan. 2011

08.00-22.00

admission:£0.00 - free

 

playground - description and concept

imagine:

a one room house on the pier

entered by traversing a

meandering rock path;

white wood pillars

and air for walls.

A glass roof of filtered sun

as smoky clouds pass by.

Ventilated by the breeze.

Red-tinged vista of a

mirror garden,

freshened by water sounds

placed in traditional ‘oong’ (water jar).             

Over-looking flowing river,

boats gently drift by.

Imagine at night:

as evening sun sets,

white walls transform;

vivid purples and reds.

‘Grass’ and ‘earth’ of garden;

becoming delicate light shows

triggered by your presence

relaxing in the house.

‘red cube’ is a space of tranquility in the bustle of the city: a space to be cooled by the wind and shaded from the sun, a space to muse, to tweet, to chat, to watch clouds, children play and other people pass by outside and enjoy another garden created on the pier between cube and river.

‘red cube’ may inspire us to reflect further how we see nature and technology, as well as relationships between inner and outer. Building on a Buddhist idea that we exist only in relationship to everything else, red cube draws attention to what is called ‘deep ecology’ – not just green concerns but how people are intimately integrated into a wider web of life.

Being in the cube is an experience for the participant akin to Japanese tea ceremony, with its philosophy, sensuous ritual, therapeutic immersion, sensory interaction and everyday technology.  As you sit in the cube you may sense a greater appreciation for both inner and outer worlds. You are inside yet still aware of your relationships to the wider space and city beyond; becoming more sensitised to the time, place, season, mood, other beings, architecture and landscape. Perhaps paradoxically, entering the inner space of the cube one becomes more sensitive to the greater external space.

‘red cube 01’ in Kudee Chine, Bangkok, brings together particular ideas from architecture, science, digital and everyday technology, the significance of water in Thai culture, and the a philosophic interpretation of ‘khaow’ (glass) and particular Japanese aesthetics to create a work that is simple in design yet splendorous, deeply thought-provoking yet accessible to any and all people who wish to enter.

Kudee Chine is a multi-cultural community where people of Christian, Moslem, Buddhist and other backgrounds reside. The aspiration is for red cube will be the stimulus for further engagement with local community including school children to respond creatively with themes of deep ecology and technology. This would evolve an intervention already begun by Chanyaporn Chuntamara and others.

‘red cube’ is a series of inter-active and immersive sculptures, actual or conceptual, that aims to shed light on our contemporary ecology and being. Borrowing from processes of the Japanese tea ceremony, tea house and tea garden, each ‘cube’ that takes shape around the world, is a playful space of reflection and contemplation.

Cubes are conceived also for spaces in London, New York and Tokyo. Each cube is highly individual and emerges in part through its interaction with the space, the community, the season and time in which it takes place.

‘red cube 01’ is curated by Chanyaporn Chuntamara

and produced by K.M.U.T.T in partnership with 8 technology of Goldsmiths, University of London.

‘red cube’ in Bangkok is conceived and directed by raphael jay adjani, as lead artist,

working in partnership with engineers, architects and designers who are graduate students of K.M.U.T.T.: Gabriel Almanzar, Supasee Panusatid, Tanat Rhienpanish, Chaowalit Suebsanyin, Pornphimon Taeweeraphichai, Sarunya Thongme;

as well as precocious young composer Rapeedech v. Kulabusaya.

The makers of red cube 01 acknowledge and gratefully thank:

support of the British Council (Bangkok Office) for disseminating and promoting the project;

creative support of Bernard Bstieler of Inverse Lighting, Mike Croft, Sian Ni Mhuiri, David Mrugala; Woody Pornpituksuk,

technical as well as other assistance of  Niem Jaidee, and his team,  Fang Riewpakorn, Sarayut Supsook, Awatha Thanapanich, Chalitaporn Yamoon, as well as staff of K.M.U.T.T., especially Michael Paripol Tangtrongchit, Chokeanand Bussracumpakorn, Sura Charoensuk, Pongsak Kitirojpan, Lucksak Pansuwan.

view via the sublime filmic work, version for the internet: naka-ma

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bangkok post feature article on 8 projects in thailand, including ‘red cube’