An Art World Reconstruction Spell: Universe One

 “What we know as science in our world will be known as magic in another dimension and vice versa,” artist, noisician, and self-proclaimed “Digital Shaman”, Ivory Sammy said during the panel discussion for Universe One exhibition at MYANM/ART gallery. Sammy and Zune’s work, And The Great Bell Tolls, a refreshing and borderline blasphemous depiction of the Dhammazedi bell and the superstitions around it, probes at the paradoxes of existing between reality and non-reality at the same time; a provocative visualization and sonification of an urban legend with deep rooted social and political complications. Sammy’s statement and the artwork laid ground for the overall concept of the mixed reality exhibition: that terms such as digital/non-digital, private/public, physical/virtual are not exclusive conditions.

Universe One is part of a larger project: (Re)imagine City/(Re)imagine Home, an augmented reality exhibition of public art hosted on Instagram. Public interventions are manifested as Instagram filters allowing the works to be placed virtually where the viewer occupies physically. To give more context behind (Re)’s predominantly virtual curation, Myanmar has been a country whose leading entities have little support nor faith in the arts. Even in Yangon, the largest city and art-scene center, public art is scarce, apart from outdated propagandist images. With the ongoing coup and revolution since February 2021, opportunities for artists to expand outside their home studios to the public sphere could not be more limited and downright life-threatening. Universe One and (Re) project at large, hence turns to the digital space to thwart the physical limitations.

Seven works were created as part of (Re)—the virtual exhibition, and their accompanying physical manifestations were presented as Universe One: Portal to an Impossible City. AR artist and digital creator, Aung Nyein Chan assisted with the technicalities of creating the virtual filters for all seven works. His own work, Lotus Calling manifests a gentle breathing lotus. The lotus which traditionally represents luck and wisdom through the many obstacles of life compliments the shared notion of resilience as the country pushes through one of the most turbulent times of its modern era; a breathing lotus representing an art world that refuses to die under rampant oppression despite the world’s contrary expectations.

“We are imagining reality as we like.”

—Technowitch, curator of Universe One

The title of the exhibition, “Universe One” is inspired none other than by the world reconstruction spell, Universe One that the witch Irene Belserion from Fairy Tail manga used to completely reconstruct the terrains of Fiore so that the world is to her advantage. On February 1st 2021, Myanmar turned upside down, The world—the art world—as it was is now gone. Despite the darkness and tragedies, the circumstance also presents an opportunity to reconstruct and reimagine the Myanmar art world the way artists wish. Hence, Universe One exhibition is an art world reconstruction spell signaling a turning point for the future of art and art spaces in Myanmar.

The exhibition opened on April 3rd, 2022. Upon entering, the visitor is invited to pick a pin to wear decorated with a mystical symbol. The curatorial statement begins:

The wands hear my wish.

Remake!

I conjure a new world.

Here I am power.

Here I am strength.

The curtains parted and the visitor is ushered into the impossible world. Through different mediums from artist-books to video installations, the artists—in varying degrees—conjured reimaginations, disruptions, reconstructions, escapes and reflections of the world they live in.

Moe Myat May Zarchi’s Sad Diva transformed the back wall corner of the gallery into an interactive 80s nightlife stage. Zarchi’s ironic depiction of sad pop divas were inspired by the country’s media culture in the late 1980s where despite the crackdown of protests and major oppressions at the time, the state media never failed to broadcast beautiful extravagant women singing on in a daze through the night. “I couldn’t understand those pop singers from the 80s at first,” said Zarchi, “like how can they still dress up and sing like nothing happened when the world around them is falling apart? Now, my own world is in chaos so somehow, it feels like I can empathize with them now. Sometimes, I myself want to forget the perpetual dread I live with daily, put on my best dress and just sing.”

Some instructions on how to become a sad diva includes:

-Put on your Diva Face and act like you’ve been brainwashed

-Now sing along to the song

Fio Dio and Zun May Oo’s Cassette Sonata also evokes nostalgia but in a more positive light, reflecting on the time of cassette players. The exhibition statement neatly states: “…an antique cassette shop in the middle of Yangon: a little escape, a little therapeutic place away from the stressful and suffocating times. This is an invitation for a visit to this empty music shop to wind down.”

Lynn Thant Naing’s Futur-wastic is arguably one of the most notable works in the exhibition. It is not the usual environmental activist art, but one that is relatable and relevant to Yangon’s urban populace. The Instagram filter portrays one of the most prominent downtown buildings filled with trash. The physical counterpart of the work at the gallery assembled in collaboration with Zun May Oo, involves two transparent acrylic cubes stacked on top of one another with walls stuck with various scraps of discarded plastic waste carefully picked to give an overall pompous light pink hue. Red letters on the wall: FUTUR-WASTIC like a warning sign.

Soe Yu Nwe’s paper-cut artist book, Botanical Woman and the Stars, emits a quiet spiritual energy, exploring the story of a mystical serpentine woman and a star. Last but not least, Stars that Shine, is a simple but solemn tribute to the fallen souls of the ongoing revolution, taking the viewers through a reflective journey through the events we have collectively experienced during the past year.

A mixed reality exhibition, it is no secret that Universe One relies heavily on technology and resources that enable it. The gallery, the curatorial team and the artists all deserve applause for realizing such an exhibition through the severe power cuts, internet cuts and the ever present consequences of impressive artistic expressions during a time like this. (Re) project is a combustion of ideas and determination of the Myanmar art world—especially the younger generation—to continue on and mark their place in the world at large; disrupting archaic hierarchies, liquidating dichotomies, and reimaging and reconstructing reality as they see fit.

Images and video courtesy of Technowitch.