Curated by Tessa Maria Guazon
December 13, 2022 - March 18, 2023
Phantasmapolis x Manila: Select Works from the 2021 Asian Art Biennial invites viewers to explore and examine notions of the future in the pandemic's aftermath through its central themes of Asian futurism and science fiction culture. The exhibition takes its title from Taiwanese architect Wang Da-Hong's sci-fi novel that referenced the Greek words “phantasma" (phantom) and "polis" (city-state). It dynamically stages and eloquently articulates imaginaries of time across visions of an ideal world as expressed in short-lived events like expositions, the science fiction genre, the futurism movement, and the activation of the archive.
Phantasmapolis x Manila confronts questions about the future and its intricate ties to the past. It presents a task rendered eloquently by contemporary art, which asks that we become witnesses of our time in a speculative, reflective, and spirited manner. Works by artists Catalina Africa, He Kun Lin, Li Kuei-Pi, Li Yi Fan, Lin Shu Kai, Mark Salvatus, Yuyu Yang, and Alvin Zafra alongside archive materials and documents from the Philippines and Taiwan are presented in the exhibition.
