In the chapter "Enjoyment in Untroubled Ease" of Zhuangzi, Zhuangzi wrote about his dream of being a butterfly, contemplating the blurred boundary between reality and dreams, and questioning the authenticity of life. The concept of "transformation of things" refers to attributing non-material concepts or beliefs to objects, giving them significance beyond their physical properties. This is a key idea in Zhuangzi's philosophy. The works of the six young artists featured in this exhibition reflect on existentialism and personal experience, exploring the real and the illusory, the tangible and the spiritual.
In Eastern cultural contexts, dreams are akin to the reality seen through a butterfly's eyes. The scenes in the artworks reflect the artists' past experiences in reality. Ines Katamso employs her signature mineral materials in her creations, where the flow of patterns and unique texture of the materials merge, enhancing the depiction of objective objects. This expresses a reverence for the environment and life and the uniqueness of local culture. Berbrain (Bernandi Desanda) draws inspiration from subjects he finds intriguing; his images appear as incarnations of various animals, monsters, and fantastical beings, imbuing these novel creatures with unique vitality, roaming freely in the dreamscape, full of passion and energy. Tos Suntos, influenced by environmental culture, integrates retro and pop culture into his creations, showcasing an existence that transcends time and space. Alexander Sebastianus Hartanto uses the decontextualization of material culture, with the collision of batik, printing, and cotton outlining a unique visual feast. Xiuching Tsay interweaves colors and lines to create a vibrant visual image of reason and romance, influenced by diverse ecologies and digitalization. Panchat Yodmanee attempts to depict the fantasy and emotions in the subconscious, with a serene yet powerful penetration that breaks the boundary between reality and illusion.
The artists' understanding of the diversity and complexity of the real world allows them to create a free-flowing atmosphere by utilizing the texture of the materials themselves. The works, after shedding some inherent contexts, emit new vitality, resembling the eyes of a butterfly, transcending individual boundaries, encompassing all things, and reflecting infinite spiritual freedom and transcendence.
EXHIBITING WORKS
 Alexander Sebastianus Hartanto Bayangan Dari #01 (Remnants of From) Handbatik on printed photograph on cotton 130 x130 cm 2024 |  Alexander Sebastianus Hartanto Menjelang Dari #03 - #04 Handbatik on printed photograph on cotton 109 x 380 cm (109 x 190 cm x 2P) 2024 |  Alexander Sebastianus Hartanto Nista - mandala #02 Handbatik on printed photograph on cotton 134 x 134 cm 14 x 134 cm 2024 |
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 Alexander Sebastianus Hartanto Titik Dari #6 Handbatik on printed photograph on cotton 190 x 30 cm 2024 |  Tos Suntos Black Bell Shaped Pagoda T03 Acrylic on canvas 240 x190 cm 2024 |  Tos Suntos Black Bell Shaped Pagoda T02 Acrylic on canvas 240 x190 cm 2024 |
 Tos Suntos Black Bell Shaped Pagoda T01 Acrylic on canvas 240 x190 cm 2024 |  Berbrain (Bernandi Desanda) Every Step Defines the Future Oil pastel, spray paint and mixed media on canvas 100 x 100 cm 2024 |  Berbrain (Bernandi Desanda) Fill the Soul with Wisdom Oil pastel, spray paint and mixed media on canvas 100 x 100 cm 2024 |
 Berbrain (Bernandi Desanda) The Conqueror of Dragons Oil pastel, spray paint and mixed media on canvas 140 x 100 cm 2024 |  Berbrain (Bernandi Desanda) The Protector of Good Fortune Oil pastel, spray paint and mixed media on canvas 60 x 100 cm 2024 |  Berbrain (Bernandi Desanda) The Dreamer Oil pastel, spray paint and mixed media on canvas 60 x 100 cm 2024 |
 Ines Katamso Esquisse 3 Handmade soft pastels from soils, minerals the artist collected herself - linen - aluminium frame 140 x 360 cm (140 x 120 cm x 3P) 2024 |  Ines Katamso Details 1 Handmade soft pastels from soils, minerals the artist collected herself - linen - aluminium frame 30 x 30 cm 2024 |  Ines Katamso Details 2 Handmade soft pastels from soils, minerals the artist collected herself - linen - aluminium frame 30 x 30 cm 2024 |
 Ines Katamso Details 3 Handmade soft pastels from soils, minerals the artist collected herself - linen - aluminium frame 30 x 30 cm 2024 |  Ines Katamso Details 4 Handmade soft pastels from soils, minerals the artist collected herself - linen - aluminium frame 30 x 30 cm 2024 |  Ines Katamso Neofossil 4 Relief Sculpture: Scagliola, soil with aluminium 85 x 50 x 3 cm 2024 |
 Ines Katamso Naga 1 Handmade pastels from soil on linen with aluminium hanging 140 x 70 cm 2024 |  Ines Katamso Naga 2 Handmade pastels from soil on linen with aluminium hanging 140 x 70 cm 2024 |  Panchat Yodmanee The Wing of Dream 22052024 Acrylic on linen 97 x 130 cm 2024 |
 Panchat Yodmanee The Wing of Dream 22052024 Acrylic on linen 200 x 120 cm 2024 |  Xiuching Tsay Breaking Mantra of the Libra Constellation Oil on canvas 160 x 130 cm 2022 |  Xiuching Tsay Time Improvisation at a Seashore Oil on canvas 80 x 110 cm 2024 |
 Xiuching Tsay The Nature of Being Camouflage Oil on canvas 40 x 120 cm 2024 |
ARTISTS
ALEXANDER SEBASTINUS HARTANTO
b. 1995, Java, Indonesia
Alexander Sebastianus Hartanto sees ethnographic research as an experiential mode of existence. His works explore the decontextualization of material cultures and how they are perceived, understood and ritualized in practice.
For Sebastianus, decolonizing the ontologies of art is to reclaim Sani, a way of living that involves offering, service and search of the unknown. Such a practice leads to a recreation of pilgrimages, sacred spaces and woven cloths, all of which may or may not be archived, documented or shared. In Sani, what is left are remnants and evidence of materials.
Alexander Sebastianus Hartanto is an artist who achieved the William Daley Award for Excellence in Art History and Craft in 2017. Trained as an apprentice in his grandmother's hometown in East Java, he mastered the art of weaving, which has become essential in his exploration of visual and material ontology. Currently he works at Rumah SukkhaCiwa in Java as an ethnographer and developer of textile crafts.
BERNANDI DESANDA (BERBRAIN)
b. 1996, Tangerang, Indonesia
Bernandi Desanda (Berbrain) graduated in 2021 from the Indonesian Institute of the Arts in Yogyakarta, from the Faculty of Design, Department of Visual Communication Design. Since 2015, Bernandi has chosen to focus on visual arts, particularly painting.
After graduating, Bernandi decided to pursue a career as a full-time artist and now currently lives in Yogyakarta. Recognized as Berbrain, the name encapsulates the notion of "Bernandi's thoughts," elegantly combining 'Ber' and 'Brain’.
An undeniable passion for animals, monsters, and all things uncanny courses through Bernandi's creative veins. This fervor consistently finds its expression in the art he produces today, a majority of which draws inspiration from these captivating realms. Notably, the enchanting universe of cartoon characters also contributes to the tapestry of his creations. It's within this artistic landscape that Bernandi skillfully weaves together the essence of monsters, animals, and animated personas, breathing life into a symphony of new and captivating species.
INES KATAMSO
b. 1990, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Ines Katamso is a French-Indonesian painter based in Bali. After studying art and design in France, Ines was drawn back to her homeland, where she currently works as an artist and visual designer in her studio, Atelier Seni.
Upon returning to the island, she began her artistic journey by creating commission murals before gradually transitioning to more intimate scales and subject matter. Ines explores the themes of biology, microbiology and astrophysics through her artworks. She is also focusing on pushing her art-making mediums to be environmentally sustainable, from her choices of materials in frames and exploring paper cutting to splicing aside from just painting.
Ines' paintings depict abstract and organic microscopic objects that are fragile but essential to our life, intentionally blown up in proportion to be larger-than-life, reminding us of the importance of these microscopic mechanisms that exist in ourselves as a unit of nature.
PANCHAT YODMANEE
b. 1993, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand
Panchat Yodmanee (Ice) graduated with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts Degree, from the Department of Thai Art, Faculty of Painting, Sculpture, and Graphic Arts at Silpakorn University. She is currently pursuing her Master’s of Fine Arts Degree from the Faculty of Painting, Sculpture, and Graphic Arts, also at Silpakorn University.
Yodmanee unveils layers of meaning hidden within the simplest of elements. Through her art, she captures the essence of abundance and tranquility, finding beauty in the ordinary simplicity of soil. Yodmanee's contemplation of a lump of earth reveals a truth of reality that resonates deeply with viewers, evoking a sense of powerful serenity akin to a floating mass soaring through boundless skies.
Her work serves as a vessel for introspection, plunging spectators into a realm where dreams and reality intertwine. Like one of her works, the image of the brave white horse symbolizes themes of freedom, strength, and a timeless connection with nature. Through Yodmanee's art, viewers are invited to transcend the constraints of time and space, exploring the depths of their subconscious minds and discovering profound truths that resonate across generations.
The artist has also received numerous awards, including the 3rd Prize, The 67th National Art Exhibition in 2022, the Gold Awards, Established Artist Category 12th UOB Painting of the Year, and 1st Prize, Bualuang Gold Medal, Contemporary Painting Category, 39th Bualuang Painting Contest, Bualuang Foundation in 2017.
Her selected and recent solo exhibitions include: "Somewhere in the blue heart," Galerie Sarto, Paris, France, 2023; “A little letter from somewhere someone,” Process-passion, Galerie Sarto, Paris, France, 2021. Selected group exhibitions include: “TBC,” Tang Contemporary Art, Bangkok, 2024; “Echoes of Beauty,” Iconsiam, Tang Contemporary Art, Bangkok, 2021; “Time-Lapse: Reflecting on Thai Art,” 333 Anywhere Art Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand, 2021; “Particle,” Joyman Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand, 2018.
TOS SUNTOS
b. 1992, Bangkok, Thailand
Tos Suntos (Panyawat Phitaksawan) is a Thai Artist and Designer known for his outstanding graphic design which can apply to 2D and 3D objects in unconventional style. For his professional artist, his outstanding work is he changes the visual of traditional Thai to a combination of Thai style, universal monsters. pop culture and modern art.
Since the 2014s, TOS SUNTOS has been an illustrator who created his work from surrounding culture, human lifestyle and memory of childhood. When he was young, he was interested in Sci-fi movies and monsters. Therefore, he brings all of his experience combined with pop culture and retro style to his original art works. TOS SUNTOS first gained international attention when he was commissioned to Adidas Headquarter as representative from Thailand.
Tos Suntos has embedded Thai Identity in his delightful works in the biggest Adidas shop in the center of Bangkok Thailand. His talents are expressed in painting, digital paint, graphic design, collage art and sculpture; which are full of delicate patterns, super detail and layers of art.
XIUCHING TSAY
b. 1993, Chonburi, Thailand
Currently based between Chonburi, Thailand and London, UK
Tsay’s approach to creating works involves the theme of ‘The indefinite self-making images that are drawn via the diverse plays of flowing streams of the ecosystem’. Inspired by the patterns of natural networks, lives’ anatomy, New age Buddhism and the evolution of human communication technology. These kinds are twined together to create a non-linear time and space, as in the contemporary age we are living in perplexing cultures; The nets of connections from different sources make us the new body ' the process of metamorphosis' . The works express within the connections is in the mix of physics and spiritual’ law of attractions' concept, coupled with the artist’s existential narratives that she finds them mysterious.
Tsay explores the existential transformations that can be triggered by the evolution of communication in mainstream society, including the eccentrics (alien) behind in the shared space.
CURATOR
SHERRY WANG
b. 1996, Wuhan, China
Sherry Wang graduated from Hubei Academy of Fine Arts with a bachelor's degree in Art Management; graduated with a master's degree in Art Museum and Gallery Studies from the University of Leicester in the UK. Currently working in the Exhibition Department of Tang Contemporary Art in Beijing.
Have participated in, planned, and coordinated multiple large, medium, and small exhibition projects both domestically and internationally, including: Yan Jingzhou: All Around Buster Town, The Artist is Present: the 15 Years of AWARD OF ART CHINA, Luxury and Quaintness-Exhibition of Royal Vienna and Royal Vienna Style Porcelains, Painting: Feel the Pulse of the Time, Ancient Charm of the Wind-Exhibition of Artron Exquisite Replica Ancient Chinese Painting, "Jin Zhushan Plan", "Who Challenging", etc. Focus on cutting-edge art with creative potential and expanding boundaries, committed to the research, curation, and practice of contemporary art ecology.