Bangkok Art Biennale presents Die Mütter (The Mothers) by Isaac Chong Wai. Drawing inspiration from the figure of Mother Earth, who has historically symbolized a ‘nurturer and giver of life across cultures’, the Bangkok Art Biennale explores ideas around ecology, femininity, ecological resilience and biodiversity. The biennale will open on 24 October and continue through 25 February 2025.

In Chong’s two-channel video installation, Die Mütter, a circle of singers embrace and move together, singing mourning songs and lullabies in multiple languages. Their intertwined bodies convey solidarity, solace, and shared grief, a powerful expression guided by musician Dagmar Aigner, who has collaborated with mourners for over a decade. Inspired by Käthe Kollwitz’s 1922/23 woodcut of the same name, Die Mütter, Chong’s work mirrors the depth of grief and resilience in motherhood and the cycles of life and loss.

Bangkok Art Biennale Nuture Gaia 2024 is curated by Prof. Dr. Apinan Poshyananda, Pojai Akratanakul, Dr. Brian Curtain, Akiko Miki, Dr. Paramaporn Sirikulchayaont.

Image: Isaac Chong Wai, Die Mütter (The Mothers), 2022, two-channel video

Commissioned by ifa-Galerie Berlin.,

Music Director: Dagmar Aigner. Camera Operator: Lana Immelman. Sound: Nobutaka Shomura. Singers: Dagmar Aigner, Paola Eleonora Bascon, Isaac Chong Wai, Zaki Hagins, Alena Magdalena, Sarai Baranco Merodio, Karin Mühlhoff, Eva Robayo, Nobutaka Shomura, Leela Tinelli, and Winifred Wong.

https://www.bkkartbiennale.com/artwork/die-mutter-the-mothers