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Remember September: Re-performing the Burmese ‘Saffron Revolution’ at the Singapore Biennale1
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 February 2016
Abstract
In the autumn of 2008, artists Chaw Ei Thein and Richard Streitmatter-Tran and collaborators laboured outside in the sweltering heat to create September Sweetness, an installation made of five and a half tons of sugar, for the second Singapore Biennale. September Sweetness was intended to honour the memory of those who perished in the 2007 uprisings known as the ‘Saffron Revolution’ in Myanmar, and to show the ‘erosion of hope’ for a better future. September Sweetness took place a number of years ago now, but the intentionally ephemeral nature of the art object itself – a sugar temple that gradually melted away – as well as its social reception, multiple meanings and collaborative construction process, and the ways in which the memory of the work continue to resonate with past and present politics, make the performative acts that radiated through this project important to recount.
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Footnotes
1
The author would like to thank Chaw Ei Thein, Richard Streitmatter-Tran, the anonymous reviewers and Paul Rae for their time and assistance with this article.
References
NOTES
2 In line with the essay's overarching methodological approach, the terminology of ‘Myanmar’ or ‘Burma’ shifts depending on the particular context. In general, ‘Myanmar’ refers to the political entity/state, and ‘Burma’ refers to what the artists say or to situations emphasizing a particular affective dimension (e.g. the country of ‘Myanmar’ and the ‘Burmese’ Saffron Revolution). For further discussion on the use of ‘Burma’ or ‘Myanmar’ see also Décobert, Anne, ‘Sitting on the Fence? Politics and Ethics of Research into Cross-Border Aid on the Thailand–Myanmar/Burma Border’, Journal of Burma Studies, 18, 1 (June 2014), pp. 33–58CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and Dittmer, Lowell, ed., Burma or Myanmar? The Struggle for National Identity (Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co., 2010)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
3 Conversation with Richard Streitmatter-Tran in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 13 December 2010.
4 Jane DeBevoise and Ali Van, ‘Interview with Chaw Ei Thein’, www.aaa-a.org/programs/interview-with-chaw-ei-thein/, accessed 12 September 2015.
5 Huang, Roger Lee, ‘Re-thinking Myanmar's Political Regime: Military Rule in Myanmar and Implications for Current Reforms’, Contemporary Politics, 19, 3 (2013), pp. 247–61, here p. 248CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
6 In its report for 2014, Human Rights Watch states that the reform process ‘experienced significant slowdowns and in some cases reversals of basic freedoms’. Human Rights Watch, www.hrw.org/by-issue/essential-background/135, accessed 8 April 2015.
7 Bertil Lintner, ‘Myanmar Ousts Rising Political Star, Confirming Doubts over Democratic Reforms’, at http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/myanmar-ousts-rising-political-star-confirming-doubts-over-democratic-reforms, accessed 16 May 2015.
8 The artists express deep concern over the situation for the Rohingya people, and the destructive role of Buddhist factions in instigating and perpetrating violence, but they feel that for them ‘September Sweetness was a comment on a specific situation/event’, and the ‘artwork and the contemporary issues [regarding] the stateless Rohingya are two separate issues’. Email correspondence with the artists, 9 September 2015.
9 The 1988 pro-democracy uprisings in Myanmar, commonly referred to as 8888 due to the central event that occurred on 8 August 1988, were a series of protests against the government that took place across the country. The protests were initiated by university students in Yangon and quickly spread to include monks and people from all walks of life in cities across the country. The uprisings were violently suppressed by the military and it is thought that thousands were killed. Democratic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi came into prominence during this time of social unrest.
10 Jones, Lee, ‘Explaining Myanmar's Regime Transition: The Periphery Is Central’, Democratization, 21, 5 (2014), pp. 780–802CrossRefGoogle Scholar, here p. 781.
11 Jones, ‘Explaining Myanmar's Regime Transition’, p. 782.
12 Huang, ‘Re-thinking Myanmar's Political Regime’, p. 247.
13 Stewart, Kathleen, ‘Atmospheric Attunements’, Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 29 (2011), pp. 445–53, here pp. 445–6CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
14 Ibid., p. 449.
15 Ibid., p. 445.
16 Speaking in 2010, Chaw Ei Thein is referring to the time of the uprisings in 2007 and afterward, during the making of September Sweetness. This statement may also refer to her feelings regarding the political situation in Myanmar during the time of the interview. Jane DeBevoise and Ali Van, ‘Interview with Chaw Ei Thein’, www.aaa-a.org/programs/interview-with-chaw-ei-thein, accessed 12 September 2015.
17 The author and the artists recognize the fact that Buddhists and Buddhist clergy are not always aligned with peaceful, pro-democratic, equal-rights advocacy and social action in Myanmar or elsewhere. Violent and xenophobic Buddhist extremism has a long history in Myanmar. The recent and continuing anti-Rohingya violence and political oppression in the state of Rakhine, instigated and condoned by some Buddhist clergy, is a prime example of current fascist strains of Buddhism in Myanmar.
18 Dittmer, Burma or Myanmar?, p. 12.
19 Conversation with the Chaw Ei Thein in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 25 February 2009.
20 Ibid.
21 Conversation with Richard Streitmatter-Tran in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 13 December 2010.
22 Ibid.
23 Ibid.
24 Ibid.
25 In 2008, due to bad press it received for stifling dissent during the 2006 World Bank and IMF meetings, Singapore began allowing citizens to speak freely and protest without a police permit at the Speakers’ Corner in Hong Lim Park, although other restrictions still apply and people must register beforehand with the National Parks Board. The Public Order Act of 2009, however, mandates that public speeches and assemblies may only proceed if granted a license and gives police great leniency in apprehending even a sole demonstrator whose actions are deemed to cross politically sensitive lines.
26 For more on the denial of work permits and visa extension for people from Myanmar, as well as the Singaporeans who staged a public protest over these decisions, see the Singapore Democratic Party, http://yoursdp.org/news/local_activists_arrested_for_supporting_burmese_cause/2009-01-12-661, and http://yoursdp.org/news/more_burmese_facing_expulsion_from_singapore/2008-12-30-639, accessed 14 April 2015.
27 Chaw Ei Thein and Richard Streitmatter-Tran, ‘Chaw Ei Thein & Richard Streitmatter-Tran: September Sweetness Artists’ Statement’, at http://universes-in-universe.org/eng/magazine/articles/2008/chaw_ei_thein_rich_streitmatter_tran, accessed 12 September 2015.
28 Anjana Krishna Kumar, ‘Sticky End to Sweet Tribute’, at http://chaweithein.blogspot.dk/search/label/the%20Straits%20Times, accessed 11 May 2015.
29 Ibid.
30 Ibid.
31 Slater, Ben, ‘(No) Space Is the Place’, Broadsheet, 37, 4 (December 2008), pp. 286–8Google Scholar, here p. 288.
32 Jo-Anne Birnie Danzker, ‘Post-West: Guangzhou Triennial, Taipei Biennial, and Singapore Biennale’, Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art, 8, 1 (January/February 2009), pp. 16–29, here p. 27.
33 Jane DeBevoise and Ali Van, ‘Interview with Chaw Ei Thein’, at www.aaa-a.org/2010/08/03/interview-with-chaw-ei-thein, accessed 12 September 2015.
34 Ibid.
35 Ibid.
36 Ibid.
37 Conversation with the Chaw Ei Thein in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 25 February 2009.
38 Conversation with Richard Streitmatter-Tran in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 13 December 2010.
39 Ibid.
40 Jane DeBevoise and Ali Van, ‘Interview with Chaw Ei Thein’, at www.aaa-a.org/2010/08/03/interview-with-chaw-ei-thein, accessed 11 May 2015.
41 Chaw Ei Thein and Richard Streitmatter-Tran, ‘Chaw Ei Thein & Richard Streitmatter-Tran: September Sweetness Artists’ Statement’, at http://universes-in-universe.org/eng/magazine/articles/2008/chaw_ei_thein_rich_streitmatter_tran, accessed 12 September 2015.
42 Papastergiadis, Nikos, ‘South–South–South: An Introduction’, in Papastergiadis, ed., Complex Entanglements: Art, Globalisation, and Cultural Difference (London: Rivers Oram Press, 2003), pp. 1–17Google Scholar, here p. 16.
43 Papastergiadis, Nikos, ‘Collaboration in Art and Society: A Global Pursuit of Democratic Dialogue’, in Harris, Jonathan, ed., Globalization of Contemporary Art (London: Blackwell Publishing, 2011), pp. 275–88Google Scholar, here p. 277.
44 Esche, Charles, ‘Modest Proposals or Why the Choice Is Limited to “How the Wealth Is to Be Squandered”’, in Bos, Saskia, ed., Berlin Biennale (catalogue) (Berlin: Berlin Biennale für Zeitgenoessische Kunst, 2001), p. 22–6Google Scholar.
45 Papastergiadis, ‘Collaboration’, p. 276.
46 Nicolas Bourriaud, ‘An Introduction to Relational Aesthetics’, at www.mayrevue.com/traffic-espaces-temps-de-lechange/?lang=en, accessed 20 April 2015. Papastergiadis, ‘Collaboration’, p. 277.
47 Taylor, Nora A., ‘Art without History? Southeast Asian Artists and Their Communities in the Face of Geography’, Art Journal, 70, 2 (2011), pp. 7–23CrossRefGoogle Scholar, here pp. 21–2. See also essays by Cate, Sandra and Kester, Grant in Taylor, Nora A. and Ly, Boreth, eds., Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art: An Anthology (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2012)Google Scholar.
48 Regarding Singapore's nation branding and strategic use of its biennale, see, for example, Wee, C. J. W.-L., ‘Epilogue: Disciplinary Modernisation, the Asian Economic Crisis, and Re-invention’, in Wee, The Asian Modern: Culture, Capitalist Development, Singapore (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2007), pp. 143–60CrossRefGoogle Scholar, here p. 158.
49 Singapore Arts Council, www.nac.gov.sg/news/2005/12/01/singapore-biennale-2006-belief, accessed 14 April 2015.
50 Joe Martin Hill, ‘A Tale of Two Biennales: Singapore and Shanghai’, Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art, 5, 4 (December 2006), pp. 7–17, here p. 7.
51 See Susie Lingham, ‘Art and Censorship in Singapore: Catch 22?’, at http://artasiapacific.com/Magazine/76/ArtAndCensorshipInSingaporeCatch22, accessed 11 May 2015. See also Quynh Tran, ‘Singapore Biennale: Tran Luong on Contemporary Vietnamese Art’, at www.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/962627/singapore-biennale-tran-luong-on-contemporary-vietnamese-art&num, accessed 10 April 2015.
52 See discussion of the ‘representation of ethnicity as geography’ or the problematic tendency of ‘ethnogeography’ at biennales in Choy, Lee Weng, ‘Biennale Demand’, in Chiu, Melissa and Genocchio, Benjamin, eds., Contemporary Art in Asia: A Critical Reader (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2011), pp. 211–22Google Scholar., here p. 219.
53 Jean Fisher, ‘Towards a Metaethic of Shit’, in Papastergiadis, Complex Entanglements, pp. 69–84, here p. 70.
54 See commentary on the problematics of biennale criticism in Lee, ‘Biennale Demand’, p. 221.
55 For discussion on artists’ aversions to confrontation in South East Asia see Grant Kestler, ‘Interview with Jay Koh and Chu Yuan’, in Taylor and Ly, Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art, pp. 241–58.
56 Email correspondence with Richard Streitmatter-Tran, 9 September 2015.
57 Conversation with Richard Streitmatter-Tran in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 13 December 2010.