- Illustration by Tu Uyen -
Assemblage:
Me, my story and I
As a concept…
“Assemblage: Me, my story and I” is an attempt to explore the many paths the artists take in their work to reflect lifelong desires to find a unified self. The diversity of the artists’ artworks, practices and memories that draw from every day in their unique communities is not about fitting in, it is about trying to acknowledge the multiple worlds one inhabits.
Throughout history, despite wide-ranging societal obstacles, artists’ bold self-definition has remained major forces. They learned from family, community, and personal journeys and in turn convey the humanistic power of art to allow us to see the world through the lens of another.
In the earliest creations, the human face has defined art, acting as a mirror and mask of the world and a powerful source of attraction and repulsion. Artists from Rembrandt to Vincent van Gogh have centered the visage, often their own, at the center of their practices. Now, the new reckoning upon global upheavals, environmental crisis, and pandemic over the past century have morphed the ways in which contemporary artists depict the face and its many transcending forms— seeking to reflect deeper truths behind the visage of humanity.
In “Assemblage: Me, my story and I”, the Dogma Prize invites artists to reclaim their past and present realities of existence as well as create alternative discourses by finding clues from memories that can be personal, communal, regional or universal. It is the search for stories and narrations, often on the margins, that is a powerful, multi-layered recognition that the self (or “I”) may always remain both hidden and revealed to a retrospective look at the routes one takes in pursuit of the self and authenticity.
Furthermore…
To articulate a unique outward meaning, artists can chose the angles of their own realities such as, but not limited to: environmental change, social issues, impact of urbanisation on traditional values, the advance of technology, gender issues, individualism versus conformity.
Artists are free to apply the following components: materials (media, artistic discipline), their distinct mental content (thoughts, emotions, experiences) and the language of art (line, tone, form, colour, technique etc.) to combine values, blend shapes, merge and unify the different parts leading to the revelation of the self.
Materiality: This refers to role of the materials used to compose the work, which plays in delivering a sense of meaning or significance. The artists’ choices of materials, their tactile and symbolic properties become part of the ‘package’ in terms of creating meanings or making emphatic statements. This includes the use of ‘found objects’ and materials such as industrial or mass consumer domestic wares, etc. to be transformed into contextual intent.
Humor and satire: Humor is encouraged. The artists may take various form according to their personal intentions to amuse, mock, satirise or subvert. This gives clues for the jurors to glimpse at the artist’s individual circumstance projected onto broader reality and/or socio-political contexts.
Importance of artist’s statement:
It is crucial that the artists submit their statements to support the artworks, in which the choice of materiality (media, artistic discipline) and context (thoughts, emotions, experiences) are explained.
Barthes suggested that writing and artwork are equal, both are physical and material, both expose and hide and both need to be investigated.
Attitude(s) for
"Assemblage"