ComPeung Outdoor Art Event 2007
Feb 3, 2007

The event is the 1st art event held at ComPeung during the end of winter. It combines 5 artists from Holland (Ruud Matthes - our AiR artist), Taiwan (Susu Shih), America (Kathy Koller) and Thailand (Chakkrit Chimnok from Chiang Mai and Ruangsak Anuwatwimon from Bangkok). Each artist works and presents their work at ComPeung with some assist from our staff and the local community. The varieties works includes includes land art, installation, performance, sculpture and paintings. Some of the works are still visible nowadays.

Kathy Koller (USA)
Leaf Circle with Balloon

The sculpture is gentle on nature and meant to be reclaimed through a natural process. It is impermanent; I believe the Buddhist term is Anit Jung. Because this work is created onsite, it is unique to this setting, inspired by my experience in Thailand and the materials here.

Ruangsak Anuwatwimon (Thailand)
Untitled

Humans are a kind of animal who are very good in managing and solving problems. We can create many things from our imagination. But I don't believe that everything we create is good. We can sometimes win nature, but on the other hand, we cannot live without it. For our own appropriation, we then try to copy nature in order to control it.

Ruud Matthes (Holland/Greece)
Walk On

Walk On is an installation made of pieces of bamboo representing walking legs. These legs cast a 'shadow' on the ground. Consisting of ice-blocks on which I have put flowerpots with seedlings. Once the ice has disappeared, the seedlings will be planted in the earth soaked by the water of the melted ice-blocks.

I use bamboo because it is a natural material plentiful available here. It is flexible, tough, and easy to work with.

Ice is used because I like its transparency and its whiteness, but also because it makes visible a transformation process (ice becomes water) basic to nature, in which everything is constantly changing.

With Walk On, I want to encourage ComPeung to pursue its goals, to go on walking in the same direction, in harmony with its environment.

Guestbook House

Guestbook House is a structure made of bamboo, leaves, grass and string. Visitors can sit down in it, draw and/or scribble something on a piece of paper and attach it to a string.

It is meant to be a place where anyone present at ComPeung, visiting artists from a faraway country or a child living nearby, can leave his or her message and can have a look at what is already there.

It will give people coming to ComPeung an opportunity to express themselves, and by doing so to connect with each other symbolically.

Untitled

Nature for me has two aspects: chaos and order, depending on my mood I am attracted to the first or to the latter. This piece is about order. With it, I want to make visible the simple contrast between day and night, sunset and sunrise.

Susu Shih (Taiwan)
Incubation with Ink Painting

This piece of artwork is the extension of my recent work. I use the local paper on which I painted with the Chinese ink and brushes that I brought from Taiwan. I also use the fish nets which I bought from the market here.

Here at ComPeung, a lot of natural materials found in the direct environment have been used. This has inspired me to take up the local materials.

The sculpture itself is made with layers of wraps, with the ink painting wraps right in the centre. I am trying to create the sense of life before the birth, even an ink painting has its own life and is waiting...excited to be born.

Everybody talks about climate change,
we are doing our tiny bit!

ComPeung is proud to be the host for Zucica+angkrit and their project 'Shotto'

Based on Masanobu Fukuoka's concept of ‘Non-Invasive Agriculture’, the Japanese-Thai artist team Zucica+angkrit will undertake planting activities @ ComPeung from June 14 – 17.

Not only do the 4 artists – Zattsu (Reiko Sato), Moricchi (Misako Morino), Chomo (Naoko Miyajima),
Angkrit Ajchariyasophon – take action themselves but with their project also suggest that we all can do our tiny bit with very little effort, pointedly naming their project 'Shotto' which means 'tiny'.

Shotto
By Zucica+angkrit 2007
@ ComPeung

Activity: Planting

Scale: approximately 6 x 6 m

Time: 14 – 17 June 2007

Concept

ComPeung has a number of shelters and houses, but not many trees yet. To change this we would like to plant some trees at ComPeung, applying an environmental friendly technique. Our tree-planting activity is inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka's concept of The 4 Principles of ‘Non-invasive Agriculture’, which in a contemporary sense can be called ‘Minimalist Farming’. In his book ‘Revolution with a Single Grass’ Fukuoka explains the 4 Principles:

“The First Principle, no plowing. For over hundreds of years, farmers have believed that plowing is a necessary part of farming. However, non-plowing is a principle of natural agriculture. The soil itself already contains natural plowing elements from plants roots, active bacteria, bugs and worms. 

The Second Principle, no chemicals or any other man-made fertilizers. Humans have always interfered with nature, resulting in problems that despite enormous efforts cannot be truly fixed. Irresponsible farming destroys rich soil every year. Yet if we let the soil do its own process, with the help of the natural circle of plants and animals it would maintain its natural healthiness.

The Third Principle, no insecticides or pesticides. Weeds play a vital role in maintaining the soil's richness. They also guarantee a balanced ecological system. Henceforth we should not destroy weeds but rather control them. Ways to control weeds are to cover the soil using dried grass or to plant beans alongside other plants and to restrain from excessive regular watering.

The Fourth Principle, no chemical fertilizers. Due to unnatural human interference such as plowing and using chemical fertilizers, plants become weak and are prone to plant diseases and bug infestations. In natural agriculture plants are allowed to live their natural life spans in a balanced system. And although plant and bug diseases also occur in a naturally balanced system, they never reach devastating levels to justify the use of chemical products. A suitable way of controlling pests and diseases is to plant strong healthy plants in diverse environments.”

Our planet has a natural diverse ecology, and nature maintains the balance. We are planning to plant different kinds of plants at ComPeung. We hope our plants will grow there without too much interference from humans. We love weeds as much as we love flowers. Real beauty derives from uniqueness and the balance of diversities.

Zucica's blog
Angkrit's blog