Tonight the Air is Warm brings together a collection of vibrant and diverse photography, print and video works by nine established, mid-career and emerging artists from Southeast Asia. Curated by Tolla Duke Sloane, the show will occupy both the main and speakeasy space at Kristin Hjellegjerde’s London Bridge gallery, providing audiences the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the region’s artistic landscape. From the tropical gothic to the surrealism of dreams and folklore, and the reimagining of historical narratives, the artists’ reflect on universal issues relating to identity and belonging, whilst also providing heightened and imaginative insights into the cultural specifics of their geographical locations.

Due to the cramped urban spaces of the Southeast Asian cities, photography and other digital mediums are central to the region’s contemporary art scene, allowing artists to transcend their physical boundaries. Thai artist and social activist Manit Sriwanichpoom is widely recognised as one of the original pioneers of a more conceptual, socio-geographical approach to photography and is best known for his striking Pink Man series (1997-2018) from which two works will be shown in this exhibition. The selected photographs feature the cartoon-esque character - who is embodied by Thai poet Sompong Thawee - posed within the set of a so-called ‘opera’. Dressed in his signature fluorescent pink suit with a matching shopping trolley, the character’s presence is both humorous and jarring, mutely referencing the absurdity of consumer culture.

Similarly, Malaysian artist Yee I-Lann’s primarily photomedia-based art practice draws on the visual language of magic realism and mythology to speculate on issues of culture, power and the resonance of historical narratives in collective consciousness. Her large-scale photo-collage artwork Like the Banana Tree at the Gate conjures up the folkloric figure of the Pontianak (the ghostly spirit of a vengeful woman who was said to live in a banana tree), who is embodied by several well known artists and activists within a contemporary studio setting. I-Lann uses humour as a satirical tool to both charm the viewer and once again, expose the absurdity of traditional perspectives in the context of the modern world.

Sarah Choo Jing’s practice also employs theatrical techniques, often designing controlled spaces that used to incite spontaneous interaction. For her video installation Tonight, the air is warm (after which the exhibition is titled), she invited the residents of a social housing complex in Singapore to gather in the playground area at night where she left varying props for them to interact with under stage lighting. ‘The essential nature of the activity is imprecise and occurs across space and time,’ commented the artist. ‘A perpetually open project, the piece takes place in the inter-spaces between interpretation and negotiation, performance and chance.’ By contrast, a video work entitled Where do the fishes go? by Vietnamese artist Jo Ngo, made in April 2020 when Ho Chi Minh City was in lockdown, transports viewers into a hallucinogenic vision of fish and whales swimming through scenes of a city emptied of human interaction. Accompanied by an otherworldly soundtrack, the video has a calming and poetic quality, but at the same time it is impossible to ignore environmental connotations of the natural world reclaiming man-made, urban spaces.

Balinese artist Budi Agung Kuswara engages with historical narratives and archival imagery to create intricately detailed large-scale works that occupy the hazy, liminal space between dream and reality. For this exhibition, Kuswara presents a series of cyanotypes, which are created by assembling objects and materials onto light-sensitive photographic paper and exposing the composition to the sun. The artist then paints colour onto the blue printed image, imbuing a touch of opulence to his characters and also completing the physical connection between the body and sun. This sense of connectivity is central to Kuswara’s practice - and specifically his fascination with mystical science - through which the imagery of the past is revived in the present.

Filipino artist Nicole Coson’s print-making practice also meditates on the residues of time. She sees her depictions of verdant tropical landscapes as ‘architectural interventions...piercing walls with flourishing green windows’ that transport the viewer not only into a new geographical location, but also into a psychological space, reflecting on the power of imagery to awaken the memory and imagination. A similarly palimpsestic approach is central to Genevieve Chua’s image-making process. The Singaporean artist typically begins by photographing wild, natural landscapes in black and white, before painting onto the print, using colour to focus our gaze on a specific aspect or detail which might otherwise be overlooked. Also based in Singapore, Robert Zhao Renhui’s cerebral practice is preoccupied with the natural world and human intervention. In an ongoing series, he inserts a piece of human detritus into the jungle and then sets up a camera trap to record nature’s interactions. The resulting images are typically dark and closely-cropped with an intimate, voyeuristic quality that places the viewer in an almost uncomfortable position as an outsider looking in.

A collection of visually arresting artworks by Wawi Navarroza, come from the Filipino artist’s 2019 series entitled Self-Portraits & The Tropical Gothic. Navarroza creates formally staged scenes for the camera, deliberately controlling the lighting techniques and scenography to flatten the final image and fuse together disparate elements. In this way, the artist defines the Tropical Gothic as a process of syncretism that reflects on the incongruities of Filipino culture as a blend of East and Western influences, and also, on the performance and construction of self more generally.

Presented together, this collection of bold, visually arresting artworks offers a vivid form of escapism that not only transports audiences into the landscapes and stories of Southeast Asia, but also fosters a deeper understanding of, and appreciation for the region’s diverse, flourishing creativity

Yee I-Lann was born in 1971 in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia and is currently based in Kuala Lumpur. She received a BA in Visual Arts from the University of South Australia in 1993. Yee I-Lann‘s primarily photomedia-based practice engages with archipelagic Southeast Asia’s turbulent history, addressing, with wit and humanity, the socio-political impact of current politics, neo-colonialism, and globalization. Yee has established herself over the past 20 years as one of the region's leading contemporary artists, known for her digital photocollage and video works that deftly employ a complex, multi-layered visual vocabulary drawn from historical references, popular culture, archives, and everyday objects – works that speculate on issues of culture, power, and the role of historical memory in social experience, often with particular focus on themes and motifs that reference the indigenous cultures of Borneo. Yee I-Lann’s solo exhibitions include Through Rose-Coloured Glasses, North Park Center, Dallas (2019); Like the Banana Tree At The Gate, MSAC Gallery, Taipei (2016); Yee I-Lann: Picturing Power, Tyler Rollins Fine Art, New York (2014); Fluid World, Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia (2011); Boogeyman, Black Box, MAP, Kuala Lumpur (2010). In 2021, the artist will participate in the group show Tonight The Air Is Warm at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London. Yee I-Laan also took part in many group exhibitions worldwide which include 2020 Asia Project – Looking for Another Family, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (2020); Asian Art Biennial: The Strangers from beyond the Mountain and the Sea, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung City, Taiwan (2019); The Horizon is Just an Illusion: New Thoughts on Landscape; OUR Art Projects, Kuala Lumpur (2018); Outcasts: Women in the Wilderness, Wave Hill, Bronx, New York (2017); BODY/PLAY/POLITICS, Yokohama Museum of Art, Japan (2016); Jakarta Biennale, Jakarta, Indonesia (2015); The (Post) Colonial Photostudio, Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Sunderland (2013) and Singapore Biennale, Singapore, (2013). Her works are held in important public collections such as Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN, USA; National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia;Queensland Art Gallery, Queensland, Australia and National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia.

Wawi Navarroza was born in 1979 in Manila, Philippines where she currently lives and works. In 2002, Navarroza graduated with a BA in Communication Arts, with honours from De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines and in 2009 attended International Center of Photography in New York. In 2012 she completed her scholarship for the Eauropean Master of Fine Art Photography programme at the Istituto Europeo di Design-Madrid, Spain. Wawi Navarroza creates works across a wide range of media, but is primarily known for her use of photography in her art practice. The artist creates highly stylised photographs in which she investigates displacements, disorientation and discovery, reflecting on the exploration of a deeper sense of place and identity. Navarroza was awarded Kuala Lumpur International Photography Awards in 2018 and has widely exhibited her works in solo and group shows globally. Her solo exhibitions include Self-Portraits & The Tropical Gothic, Silverlens Galleries, Manila (2019); Medusa, Silverlens Galleries, Manila (2017); On Landscape & Some Dislocations, Galería Patrick Domken, Cadaqués, Spain (2012); When All Is Said And Done, Artesan Gallery, Singapore (2008); Saturnine: A Collection of Portraits, Creatures, Glass & Shadow, Silverlens, Manila / McDermott Gallery, Siem Reap, Cambodia / ArtReflex Gallery, Saint-Petersburg, Russia (2007); Polysaccharide: The Dollhouse Drama, Blacksoup Project Artspace, Manila / Ateneo Art Gallery, Manila / La Trobe University, Bendigo, Australia (2005). Selected group exhibitions include Tonight The Air Is Warm, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London (2021); (Upcoming), SF Camerawork, San Francisco (2021); (Upcoming) Viva La Frida!, Drents Museum, Netherlands (2021); Anticipating the Day, Silverlens, Manila (2020); Taboo, Vinyl on Vinyl, Makati (2019); Not Visual Noise: Philippine Photography, Ateneo Art Gallery at Areté, Quezon City (2019); ART|JOG|11 Enlightenment, Yogyakarta National Museum, Jogjakarta, Indonesia (2018); Artists’ Books for Everything, Weserburg Museum of Modern Art, Bremen, Germany (2017); Roundabout: Wawi Navarroza, Mark Valenzuela, Riel Hilario, Adelaide Central Gallery, Australia (2016); Surface Tension: Perspective on the Changing Landscape, Alliance Française de Manille for COP:21 Paris (2015); Still Moving: After Image, South-East Asian contemporary photography survey show, Singapore Art Museum 8Q, Singapore (2014) and The Hope & The Dream in Filipino: Contemporary Photography from the Philippines, The Month of Photography Tokyo 2012, presented by The Photographic Society of Japan and Tokyo Museum of Photography, Tokyo, Japan (2012).

Established in 2012, Kristin Hjellegjerde quickly gained recognition as an international gallery dedicated to exhibiting a roster of innovative, international artists, both emerging and established, with strong theoretical and aesthetic bases.

Known for its multicultural curatorial approach, the gallery has, over the past years, fostered close and cooperative relationships with museums and curators worldwide, maintaining a deep devotion to the artists it represents.Drawing on her own international background, Kristin Hjellegjerde seeks to discover new talents by creating a platform through which they can be exposed to local and international clients. In 2019 she curated 'Kubatana', a museum exhibition focused on African artists at Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium, Norway. Her curatorial approach is collaborative, working closely with other curators and collectors, as well as with developers and architects. 

In April 2018 the gallery opened its second space in Berlin. Following this exciting advancement, a second space was opened in London at the vibrant central location of London Bridge. This space is due to expand its reach over the coming years. In June 2020, Kristin Hjellegjerde opened an annual summer space in the beautiful coastal town of Nevlunghavn, Norway, followed by the opening of a second summer space at Schloss Görne, Germany, in 2021. In November 2020 Kristin Hjellegjerde joined forces with Jacqueline Goldenberg to launch JK Masters, with the intent to present secondary market artworks of a certain calibre for those who are looking for something unique and special of the highest quality and/or historic value.