The Rivers They Don’t See
02 pm, Thurs 09 Oct 2025
APD Center for Art Patronage and Development
No. 1, Luong Yen, Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi
Registration link
From the organizer:
You are cordially invited to attend the screening of the video artwork “The Rivers They Don’t See” by Thai artist Som Supaparinya, a pioneering practitioner of multichannel video installation and video synchronization in the region. She was also among the artists participating in “Riverscapes IN FLUX” (2012 — 2013), an ecological-cultural art project initiated and organized by Goethe-Institut Vietnam. The project involved artists and curators from Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, and the Philippines, conducting field research and reflecting on the ecological, socio-economic, and cultural changes that the rivers in these countries are currently undergoing.
Supaparinya is interested in the change of landscape in many aspects: history, memory, environment, and activities that impact it. Her layered, research-based videos and installations trace the overlay between labor, human resilience, and environmental change. For “The Rivers They Don’t See” project (2024), Supaparinya traveled along the waterways between Thailand and Myanmar to capture the lives of people displaced by environmental exploitation. She not only documents the river courses but also their absence: dried-up riverbeds, destroyed ecosystems, and abandoned villages, raising future questions about the consequences of human intervention.
During the talk, the artist will share her concerns, approaches, and methods of practice, alongside the research and realization process behind the project “The Rivers They Don’t See.” Attendees are also encouraged to engage directly with the artist. This is an opportunity to ask questions, gain deeper insight into the project’s various aspects, and broaden the discussion regarding Supaparinya’s use and development of her artistic language.
About artist
Som Supaparinya (b. 1973 in Chiang Mai, Thailand) is a multidisciplinary artist working with installation, found objects, photography, and film. Her works engage with social history, ecological and political structures, and colonial continuities in Southeast Asia. In her video works, rivers and landscapes act as silent witnesses to societal transformation. Her artistic practice is documentary, experimental, and often allegorical.
Exhibition highlight: Bangkok Art Biennale – Nurture Gaia (National Gallery Bangkok, 2024-2025), Collapsing Clouds Form Stars (Ver Gallery, Bangkok, 2025), The Shattered Worlds: Micro Narratives from the Ho Chi Minh Trail to the Great Steppe (BACC, Bangkok, 2025), The River They Don’t See (Kestner Gesellschaft, 2025), Melted Stars (DAAD Gallerie, Berlin, 2026). She is a winner of the Han Nefkens Foundation – South East Asian Video Art Production Grant 2024.
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