Withering Rice, Flourishing Sovereignty

Withering Rice,

Flourishing Sovereignty

*Digital collage of various Southeast Asian bank notes illustrations depicting rice cultivation. Images courtesy of artist*

Chu Hao Pei

Withering Rice, Flourishing Sovereignty highlights a collection of rice farming practices and its interwoven relationship between rice and politics in Southeast Asia. A staple consumed in the region, rice has become more than a food product but a symbol embedded within our Southeast Asian cultures. Through a constellation of textures and material, the work explores the production and consumption of rice as borderless produce, and how it is or can be used as a socio-political tool to reimagine the boundaries between countries in Southeast Asia.

Detail of Withering Rice, Flourishing Sovereignty (Group showcase). Image courtesy of artist.
Detail of Withering Rice, Flourishing Sovereignty (Group showcase). Image courtesy of artist.
Detail of Withering Rice, Flourishing Sovereignty (Group showcase). Image courtesy of artist.

Detail of Withering Rice, Flourishing Sovereignty (Solo showcase). Image courtesy of artist.
Detail of Withering Rice, Flourishing Sovereignty (Solo showcase). Image courtesy of artist.
Detail of Withering Rice, Flourishing Sovereignty (Solo showcase). Image courtesy of artist.
Detail of Withering Rice, Flourishing Sovereignty (Solo showcase). Image courtesy of artist.
Detail of Withering Rice, Flourishing Sovereignty (Solo showcase). Image courtesy of artist.
Detail of Withering Rice, Flourishing Sovereignty (Solo showcase). Image courtesy of artist.
Detail of Withering Rice, Flourishing Sovereignty (Solo showcase). Image courtesy of artist.
Detail of Withering Rice, Flourishing Sovereignty (Solo showcase). Image courtesy of artist.
Detail of Withering Rice, Flourishing Sovereignty (Solo showcase). Image courtesy of artist.
Detail of Withering Rice, Flourishing Sovereignty (Solo showcase). Image courtesy of artist.
Detail of Withering Rice, Flourishing Sovereignty (Solo showcase). Image courtesy of artist.
Detail of Withering Rice, Flourishing Sovereignty (Solo showcase). Image courtesy of artist.
Detail of Withering Rice, Flourishing Sovereignty (Solo showcase). Image courtesy of artist.

Withering Rice, Flourishing Sovereignty was presented at The Substation, Singapore, from 21 January–10 February 2021 in the Box Office.

Keywords: hybrid seeds, political tool, shortage, sovereignty, spiritual, sufficiency,
yield

Chu Hao Pei (b.1990, Singapore) is a visual artist whose works are primarily influenced by his long-standing interest in the interrelations between culture and the environment. Chu’s practice explores the shifting physical, sociological and emotional connections with our natural and urban landscapes. His works shed light on the overlooked and accidental by interweaving the processes of engagement, documentation and research. In this way, he examines the complexities of environmental and cultural loss (or resurgence) shaped by political, economic and social factors. Chu uses certain methods of documentation and representation to reveal aspects of his subject, while simultaneously concealing and drawing attention to what has yet to be communicated or understood.

Rice is a staple food that encapsulates most, if not all, Asia and Southeast Asians’ diet. It has provided the foundation to many civilisations which marked a shift from a hunter-gatherer to a wet rice agriculture based society. Broken Rice Atlas is a non-exhaustive amalgamation of research into rice practices in Southeast Asia spanning from agricultural, gastronomic to the sociocultural, sociopolitical and even spiritual forms.

Collaborative Partners
Chu Hao Pei
A visual artist whose works are primarily influenced by his long-standing interest in the interrelations between culture and the environment. Hao Pei’s practice explores the shifting physical, sociological and emotional connections with our natural and urban landscapes. His works shed light on the overlooked and accidental by interweaving the processes of engagement, documentation and research to examine the complexities of environmental and cultural loss (or resurgence) shaped by political, economic and social factors. Hao Pei uses certain methods of documentation and representation to reveal aspects of his subject, while also both concealing and drawing attention to what cannot yet be communicated or understood.

Kokkoya Organics

Ruang Kayahara

Ruang Kayahara is a Co-Farming Space in Sukabumi, West Java; an experimental garden, an alternative workplace for young people, is a place where young farmers are born and grow together.

Merupakan sebuah Co-Farming Space di Sukabumi, Jawa Barat; sebuah kebun eksperimen, tempat bekerja alternatif untuk anak muda, menjadi tempat petani muda lahir dan berkembang bersama.

Sekolah Tani Muda

An organization that aims to be a forum for young people with various backgrounds to learn together about the world of agriculture. Sekolah Tani Muda or often abbreviated as “SEKTIMUDA”, was established around the beginning of 2014 and until now, there have been 8 generations. Sektimuda facilitates educational programs for young people who have a strong desire to learn and explore agriculture.

Sebuah organisasi di Indonesia yang ditujukan untuk menjadi sebuah wadah bagi para pemuda/i dengan berbagai latar belakang, untuk belajar bersama tentang dunia pertanian. Sekolah Tani Muda atau yang sering disingkat “SEKTIMUDA”, berdiri sekitar awal tahun 2014 dan sampai sekarang sudah 8 angkatan. Sektimuda memfalisitasi program pendidikan untuk para pemuda yang berkeinginan kuat mempelajari dan mendalami pertanian.

Contributors
Kamiliah