CP Projects Space at SVA is pleased to present "The Spirit That Moves," curated by MA Curatorial Practice fellow Clifford Loh.

Despite its absence in the physical world, spirituality and superstition remain at the forefront of contemporary art and visual culture emerging out of Southeast Asia. Their elusiveness and intangibility serve as materiality and are expanding the parameters of art historical discourse for contemporary art in the region.

"The Spirit That Moves" takes, as a starting point, manifestations of belief and mysticism in visual art and considers how spiritual materiality can be productively analyzed in dynamic relation to socio-economic and socio-cultural undercurrents in Southeast Asia. The works on view draw from myth, local wisdom and alternative narratives of site. They echo the multitude of temporality and disparate understanding of belief in this region. The exhibition asks: what are the limitations to presenting works that emerge out of the region under the blanket term “Southeast Asia”?

Exhibition

The Spirit That Moves