Flash Art – “Phantoms and Aliens: The Invisible Other” Gillman Barracks / Singapore
Multicolored lights flash in synch to the beat in a karaoke lounge. A bed remains unmade. Assorted dumbbell weights lie scattered on a gym floor. In his installation Borders re/make Bodies: Chiang Mai Ethnography (2017–ongoing), Samak Kosem addresses the sexual ambiguity of Burmese men in a diasporic, Thai framework. Leading double lives as masseurs and sex workers, these illegal immigrants in Chiang Mai live in the margins, dealing with multiple forms of oppression and inequality. The title of this exhibition at Richard Koh Projects, “Phantoms and Aliens,” isn’t merely a reference to a favorite genre; it’s a unifying concept highlighting “The Invisible Other,” which reverberates through the gallery’s spaces in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore.