ASIA NOW | 17 – 20 Oct 2024

Yeo Workshop is pleased to announce its participation in the 10th edition of ASIA NOW Paris, which runs 17-20 October 2024 at Monnaie de Paris, with the debut premiere of Quynh Dong’s latest video work, ‘Diary of Love’ (2024). She returns to the fair with a video work initiated by her own memory, this work is an experimental short film exploring the concept of love—beyond solely the romantic, but as a broader, universal, complex and multifaceted emotion. It integrates painting, moving image, performance and sculpture simultaneously, revealing Dong's fascination and mastery of moving image as a means to challenge our understanding of each medium.

Taking a deeply personal and emotional experience as a point of departure, Dong recalls how she had left Vietnam via boat, bidding farewell to her grandparents. She articulates this specific moment as a loss of love:

“My hands hold tight to my grandfather's hands.
The ship leaves the harbour and takes me into the cold sea air. I remember my grandparents standing at the gate of the harbour. The ship is leaving, and I have left my love, my world, my home, my feelings at the port.”

 

Yeo Workshop is also proud to present The Seas are all Shared by Ng Joon Kiat. In his first solo presentation in Europe, Ng Joon Kiat navigates the complexities of artistic identity in a globalized world, questioning the constraints imposed on art by national boundaries. Reflecting on travel as both a physical and mental journey, he engages with broader, more fluid concepts of identity shaped by movement rather than tied to a single place, turning painting into a living, evolving dialogue with the world. He reflects on a historical understanding of identity—where people were defined not by their origin, but by the places they travelled to and the knowledge they shared —Ng breaks down the constructs of nationality. Since the pandemic, the internet has been a critical space for him, providing communities and aesthetics that transcend geographical limits, while nature’s uncontrollable forces inspire his defiance of human-imposed borders.

 

Both artists' works will be part of a unique event, where ASIA NOW is curated by Radicants, the international curatorial cooperative founded by Nicolas Bourriaud. Radicants will transform La Monnaie into an immersive, vibrant ceremony featuring a blend of performance, video, dance, music, oral traditions, and rituals that merge the sacred and the profane. From culinary experiences to the communal exuberance of festivals, the entire Monnaie de Paris will become a stage for this expansive exhibition.

 

Asia NOW is the first Parisian art fair showcasing the diversity of Asia’s contemporary art scene. A curated platform fostering rich dialogues and deeply engaged programming, Asia NOW encompasses a global selection of galleries showcasing artists from across Asia, and an ambitious platform dedicated to commissioning site-specific installations, projects, and performances. These works spark broader conversations around contemporary issues, uniting like-minded communities across the region and beyond.