Conceptualised by MAP Office and Laure Raibaut (HKAC) and inspired by the research of Ho Chi-Minh City based artist Richard Streitmatter-Tran, the exhibition unfolded various ecological, social and political issues and legends around the Mekong and other liquid territories of South-east Asia. 

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Fact and fiction are two facets of interpretation that criss-cross and often overlap into grey areas. Our beliefs are very much influenced by cultural legends steeped in ancient folklore and mythologies, as well as by geographical positions and political dimensions. It has become widely accepted by most that within the ecosystem of mountains, oceans, jungles, and rivers are mysterious, curious beings that co-exist, mostly in harmony, with humankind.

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The Mekong and its surrounding regions form such a liquid territory. Mekong – New Mythologies proposed to navigate and explore the unique specificities in relation to South-East Asia and its territorial waters, and to determine whether this dissemination of land is directing a new reading of contemporary art in the region.

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For the first time in Hong Kong, this selection of works by 19 South East Asian artists and artist duos formed an archipelago radiating from the Mekong delta out towards the Pearl River Delta and the Philippines. Through the presentation of subjective histories between the artists and their environment, the exhibition took a multi-pronged examination into how liquid geography reinvents the region’s borders, identity, historical sagas and its future. 

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The exhibition Mekong – New Mythologies comprised sculpture, installations, projections, drawings and photographs. It presented new and existing works by: Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan (the Philippines), Cao Fei (China), Heman Chong (Singapore), Ho Tzu Nyen (Singapore), Naiza Khan (Pakistan), Aung Ko (Burma), Leang Seckon (Cambodia), Leung Chi Wo (Hong Kong), MAP Office (Hong Kong), David Medalla (the Philippines), Tuan Andrew Nguyen (Vietnam), Vong Phaophanit and Claire Oboussier (Laos/UK), Dinh Q.Le (Vietnam), Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook (Thailand), Richard Streitmatter-Tran (Vietnam), Vandy Rattana (Cambodia), Samson Young (Hong Kong) and Robert Zhao Renhui (Singapore).