Re/Mixed, our long anticipated debut in the 12th International Architecture Exhibition of Venice Biennale 2010, is particularly pertinentin our call for a new design economy for Malaysia, as it presentsMalaysian architects at various stages of their careers with the ideal opportunity to propel their efforts onto the global stage.
This appearance stands as a clear indicator of Malaysia’s potential as a burgeoning creative powerhouse capable of holding its own within an international context.
In an age dominated by economical, environmental, political, social, and technological upheavals, the exhibits are carefully crafted casestudies of the varied ways that Malaysian architects are presently negotiating through these challenges, and re-establishing the critical role of architecture as mediator of these changes.
Uprooted, displaced and ostensibly estranged in the installation, each model simultaneously acquired a new organic quality and lending new meanings to the one next to it, generating renewed narratives between them and with the viewers that suggest the emergence of a fresh new urbanism.
All appeared ready to be crated and shipped in this time of “architecture as global commodity”, and seemingly groundless and prone to spontaneous movements, the exhibits collectively serves as an indicator of architecture’s ongoing relationship with the landscape of change, confronting onlookers with a vulnerability that renders it irrevocably human at the heart of it all.
Whether one is beholding the poetic optimism of an ‘anti-skyscraper’ that eschews the upward-tending romanticism of the skies in favour of new inhabitations amidst the oceans depths, or the outspoken and polemically-inclined entry that presents itself as the physical embodiment of democracy, the viewer will find that the interpretations that serve to inform Re/Mixed are at once bold and manifold.
The diversity inherent in Re/Mixed is also a projection in response to Malaysia’s eclectic and dynamic urban setting that is fraught with conflicting aspirations.
Ultimately, it is our hope that Re/Mixed will inspire and evoke the imaginations of new audiences previously unfamiliar with the plight of progressive architecture in Malaysia.
As architects, we are gratified when architecture gains highly visible advocates in the community and in the government, and are thus grateful to MATRADE for their unwavering encouragement and support, and to the exhibitors, collaborators, contributors, and sponsors for their keen participation, in bringing this exciting endeavour to light.