Futurist Friday
26 May 2006
Surasi Kusolwong
One Pound Turbo Market (You’ll have a good time) 2006
Video | Programme Notes | Performance Images
Surasi Kusolwong,
One Pound
Turbo Market (You’ll
have a
good time) © Tate 2006
One Pound Turbo Market (You'll have a good time), is a performance installation by Thai artist Surasi Kusolwong. Kusolwong’s artworks draw upon the Thai customs of 'cheerfulness and distinguished hospitality' to engage the audience in direct participation.
Inspired by Asian floating markets, this realisation of the work – different versions of which have been seen in many countries around the world – is accompanied by the sounds of Thai pop music as the plastic items are marketed live by the artist and a team of assistants. Removing hierarchies between the objects by making everything the same price, Kusolwong's installation reflects on modern consumer society with a sense of humour and irony, turning the objects for sale into ‘props’ that generate social interaction. The nominal fee makes the work accessible to all, and the interactive buying process is integral to its completion.
Framing this makeshift, everyday form of interaction as art inside the museum recalls some of the central ideas connected with the Fluxus movement, which are explored in the States of Flux wing in the new Collection displays. The display of the ready-made, mass-produced items also relates to the formalised configurations of fire bricks in the famous sculpture Equivalent VIII by Carl Andre in the Minimalism hub.
Surasi Kusolwong was born in Thailand in 1965, and currently lives and works in Bangkok.
Part of UBS Openings: The Long Weekend - Futurist Friday
See Collection Display: States of Flux
