In the late 1990s, the self-organized practice of woodblock printing began to flourish in Indonesia, which later indirectly gave rise to the formation of printmaking collectives in Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mainland China. As exchanges across these places become more frequent, they gradually form a cross-regional network. Different from the orientation that mainly focuses on its political visual production, their practice tries to combine grassroots daily life issues and an equal deliberation process with the process of collective art creation, integrating both aesthetical, political, and ethical dimensions, and making us rethink the meaning of art collective.
Mapping on the Development of Self-Organised Woodcut Collectives in the Inter-Asian Context (1990s–2010s) compiles five articles from the practitioners and researchers in this network. Through their empirical analysis and first-hand experience, we hope to show these practices from an inter-Asian perspective and how this could serve as a reference for an alternative route of cultural production.
Content
Rethinking Collective: Mapping on the Development of Woodblock Printing Collective in
Inter-Asian Context / The Editorial Board
The Left-Wing Spirit of the Indonesian Artist Collective Taring Padi / CHEN Wei-Lun
Collaboration or Social Mobilization? The Historical Context of Gotong-Royong and Its Politics / Krystie NG
How to Sustain a DIY Artist Collective? In the Case of A3BC / KANO Ai
“To Exist Like a Mystery”: The Dynamic of Trans-Local Cultural Activism Network in East Asia / LEE Chun Fung
From “Popularisation” to “De-popularization”: Rethink Woodcut Printing in the Context of Chinese Contemporary Art / LI Ding
All text in Chinese and English
