ARTIST INTERVIEW
MAUNG DAY Complicit
Q> How do you think about the local Art scene and what significant facts have you found ? A> Something significant I saw is âpolitical nostalgia.â We can find more writing on nostalgic perspective. I was a bit bored by that. And, itâs not that simple when we think about the current era. Is it simple enough to claim who is a hero and who is a villain? And is it complete just by that behind it? Another thing is when I said political nostalgia, those artists I mentioned, I think they seem to divide an era as the past. In my opinion, thereâs no real past in Myanmar yet. As all the things like political oppression, ethnic conflicts and peace issues happened in the past continue to the current date. There may be a few slight changes or progress. As these things continue to happen, I doubt if it is possible to divide those as what happened in the past and create the works as a reflection of the past. And what if we miss the things we should be aware in the present by focusing on the past. It is hard for the new generation to firmly express the identity. It is when it becomes diverse. But, Iâm more into that part. I see it that way. I see many female artists in Performance arts lately. I found many performances of them expressing the issues pressing over them. I think that will lead onto more diverse and interesting future. Rather than the political nostalgia, seeing beyond that nostalgia could be more interesting. Q> In your exhibition, on what specific theme do you focus? A> Something like social communications and oneâs personal affairs. Itâs roughly about how we try to understand the complexity within those things. It is more of linking the dots and shaping the stories by the viewer oneself rather than accepting one linear narrative presented. Itâs kind of accusing the viewer or itâs like connecting the viewer in some way. So, there is complicity where both the creator and viewer become complicit. It gets wider when it comes to complicity. It includes the act of betaking where we become complicit on what, how we live through our works, and how we respond to the events. Q> What is your opinion on Surrealism and Conceptual art? A> The field of surrealism and conceptual art is very broad. Itâs good for creative personnel like us to learn about them. We can see their influence and implications upon the creations of contemporary artists today. According to my knowledge, when we talk about the surrealism, the nature of surrealism itself is retouching the things we abandoned from our conscious mind. Moreover, art makes the viewer feels its effect on other parts of the body rather on our thinking process in the brain. We called it âgut.â Itâs like affecting whatâs stored inside of our stomach, nauseous things, things that are loathsome. And then, our fear, hope, it hits them more directly. Conceptual art is something academic in its nature to approach. It has to think more based on knowledge and intellect. The artist acts very conceptual too. Therefore, the responses upon those two, surrealism and conceptual art by the audience cannot be the same. And the process of creating these two cannot be the same. Conceptual is broad in its process of creating perspectives and the use of materials when surrealism is broad in using the strength of figures. (Translated by Amon)
