New York-based artist Daniel Arsham, known globally from his work of fictional archaeology that explores our current era through the perspective of the future, for his first showing in Thailand collaborates with Central Embassy for its 10th year anniversary with the ‘BANGKOK 3024’ immersive presentation.
Central Embassy is well known for its frequent collaborations with internationally renowned artists by bringing art seamlessly into the retail space, notably in the luxury retailer’s opening year when they brought American street artist KAWS and his “KAWS: BFF”, featuring an 8-metre-high sculpture; in 2017, Japanese street artist MADSAKI exhibited his signature spray-painting works “MADSAKI: Combination Platter”, and in 2020, legendary Japanese artists Hajime Sorayama and Azuma Makoto of AMKK unveiled “SORAYAMA Space Park” that brought Sorayama’s largest creation yet, his 12-foot-tall aluminum T-rex to life.
Daniel Arsham is a sought-after artist, known for collaborating with luxury and streetwear brands globally, including Porsche, Stussy and Adidas. His notable work includes collaboration with luxury luggage producer Rimowa, along with Arsham’s capsule collection for luxury fashion brand Dior and jewelry maker Tiffany & Co, bringing Pokémon to life with the artist’s signature corroded-and-crystallized technique.
For this immersive presentation, the artist recreates a full-scale collection of his fictional archaeology by bringing a blend of architecture, sculpture and spatial design into the imagined future where an archaeological dig site awaits at Bangkok in the year 3024.
The excavation site appears as a surreal Zen Garden inspired by the dry gardens of Kyoto, complete with raked sand paintings and all-blue walkways intersected by eroded walls. Exploded holes in the walls allow viewers to walk through the area, encountering five of Arsham’s signature eroded artifacts that are instantly recognizable icons:
Star Wars Stormtrooper: Amethyst Crystallized Figure (2023); Disney’s Bronze Eroded Dog with hat (2021); Pokémon’s Blue Calcite Crystallized Jumping Pikachu (2021); Back to the Future’s Bronze Eroded Delorean 1:3 (2021); and Italian sculptor’s Amalgamized Venus Italica (2022)
Daniel Arsham’s takeover extends beyond the ‘Excavation’ site to include a pop-up ‘Artifacts’ area stocked with the artist’s highly sought after collectibles along with merchandise created exclusively for ‘BANGKOK 3024’.
On the floor above, Arsham takes over the mall’s BTS Linkage, transforming it into a ‘Passage’ from floor-to-ceiling in the artist’s signature eroded and crystallized techniques for passersby to be immersed in the presentation.
Experience ‘BANGKOK 3024’ now until 14 July 2024, Level G and Level 1 at Central Embassy.
Photo courtesy of Central Embassy
Information provided by Central Embassy
