Bamboo Melamine
Theaterworks
Hartford
Jan. 17, 2024
As I was searching for some cool art events to check out this week, I came across a listing for Bamboo Melamine by Khmer artist Joe Bun Keo at Theaterworks in Hartford. Down towards the bottom, the event announcement gave a brief statement regarding the meaning of the name of the exhibit and the artist’s intent.
Oh no, I thought. I’d broken my main rule: I’d learned something about the exhibit before I went in to see it.
Instead of lamenting that fact, I decided to turn it into an opportunity. I would learn everything I could about the artist and their context.
I went to their website and read their statement and the About page. That’s where I found the word “materiality”:
“Keo’s work embodies the belief that it is not necessary to fabricate or create new commodities, but rather utilize what already exists in a society that is in excess of materials. The materiality loaded with emotion is a reminder that the things we leave behind will speak volumes of our past, present, and future. There are stories behind anything and everything.”
That word also showed up in the artist’s statement at the exhibit. I’d never heard that word before, so I looked it up and found no less than seven different definitions. It could mean, quite literally, the “quality or state of being material.” Or it could refer to a technique of combining various materials in architecture. Or it could refer to the importance of an amount, transaction or discrepancy in accounting practice. Or perhaps it’s the social sciences definition, where the physical properties of a cultural artifact have consequences for how it’s used. (All of these other definitions can be found here.)
It soon became clear that trying to understand art through writing was just as daunting as trying to understand it by looking at it. In some of my previous arts reviews I’d said that I moved past trying to decipher meaning and was focused more on the feeling that artwork evoked in me. But in this case, the artist was telling me explicitly that they had something to say. It was my job to work and try to understand them.
So I went to work, but try as I might, I couldn’t really fathom the connection between the objects and the artist who had chosen them. Keo’s statement defines themselves as an artist, the child of Khmer Rouge genocide survivors, the parent of autism spectrum children, the spouse of a chronically ill person, and someone seeking to “unpack intergenerational trauma through the scope of neomaterialism.”
With the exception of the “Caution- Do Not Enter” tape, I had a hard time connecting any of the artwork to those heavy themes. The exhibit seemed far more joyful to me.
Celebration for a Daughter seemed just like that — a fun piece recreating the impromptu play sessions that often occur with children.
Disorient Boy Meets World made me think again of children, looking at cool odds and ends (because a clear egg carton is honestly pretty cool).
Third Party reminded me of the upcoming presidential race, and while that’s often a source of foreboding, I took a hopeful message from the wire remains of a campaign sign. Those Khmer Rogue survivors were now participating in democracy, so much so that they destroyed the sign through use.
And for a person who has walked the streets of Hartford for years and found many discarded bike seats in the streets, you’re as subtle as a brick in the small of your back resurfaced the same funny question I had every time I saw one: is the person who’s still riding that seatless bike comfortable?
I’ve often encouraged my brother to do more creative drawing. He has always answered with, “No, because I want people to understand exactly what I’m trying to say.” To which I responded, “You might as well give up on that, because even if you tell your audience exactly what you mean, they won’t believe you.” This may be a case of that. Keo clearly meant something very different from what I took away from today’s exhibit. Whether that’s good or bad probably depends on whether it’s me or him you’re asking.
NEXT
Bamboo Melamine runs at Theaterworks through March 3.
Jamil returns to Carmine’s to finally try the food.
