BANGKOK CITYCITY GALLERY is pleased to present The Economy Enters the People by Singaporean artist Ho Rui An. Co-commissioned by the Asia Cultural Centre (Gwangju) and the Singapore Art Museum, and co-produced by Bangkok CityCity Gallery, Haus der Kulturen der Welt (Berlin), and Kunsthalle Wien, the gallery is proud to be the first to present the artwork in its full form – featuring both its lecture-performance component which will be open to public during December 16-17, 2021 and physical installation which will run from January 6 – February 20, 2022.  Representing the first time as an exhibition by a regional artist under the auspices of the gallery.

The Economy Enters the People expands on Ho Rui An’s ongoing body of research focused on the emergence of capitalist modernity in East and Southeast Asia to examine the relationship between China and Singapore against the backdrop of the former’s postsocialist turn towards the market economy. Having engaged thousands of Chinese officials who have visited to study its economic and social policies since the late 1970s, the city-state has been crucial in reshaping the political imagination of an entire generation of Chinese leadership, especially when it comes to resolving the intractable problem of corruption. By retracing this history of encounters between the two countries, the work provides a basis for understanding the present-day crisis of late capitalism, with corruption having returned as a subject of political discourse following the 2008 global financial crisis and China’s economic rise.

Through his lecture-performance and installation that emerges from the intersections of archival research, fieldwork, economic analyses, storytelling, and moving images, Ho’s narrativization of historical fragments alongside emergent realities interrogates what happens when “the economy” replaces class struggle as the primary subject of governance. Has class politics been so utterly foreclosed that the people can, at best, replace governments and disgrace corporations but never abolish capitalism itself? The Economy Enters the People reignites urgent conversations amidst a faltering neoliberal dream.

The Economy Enters the People by Ho Rui An will be at BANGKOK CITYCITY GALLERY (Sathorn Soi 1 – near Lumphini MRT station – parking at 123 Parking). The performance-lecture will be performed one round/day from 19:00-21:00 hrs. on both Thursday, December 16  and Friday, December 17, 2021. Free admission with limited seats of 50/round, please email info@bangkokcitycity.com for more information and reservations in advance. The exhibition will run from Thursday, January 6 to Sunday, February 20, 2022.  The gallery’s new operation hours for 2022 will be Thursday to Sunday, 13:00–18:00 hrs. For visitor safety, the exhibition has limited attendance. Please contact info@bangkokcitycity.com or +6683 087 2725 to make an appointment to visit the exhibition in advance.