THE BUDDHIST BUG PROJECT
From Chicago to Singapore, The Buddhist Bug returns home to Cambodia
Performance and exhibition opening 6-9pm Friday, March 1, 2013

March 1 – April 7, 2013
Java Gallery (JavaArts)
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

The Buddhist Bug is the concept of artist Anida Yoeu Ali, and a project of Studio Revolt. In the artist statement she explains: “The Buddhist Bug Project seeks to map a new spiritual and social landscape through its surreal existence amongst ordinary people and everyday environments. The Buddhist Bug is a fantastic saffron-colored creature that can span the length of a 30-metre bridge or coil into a small orange ball. Rooted in an autobiographical exploration of identity, the Bug comes from the artist’s own spiritual turmoil between Islam and Buddhism. Set amongst everyday people in ordinary moments, the Bug provokes obvious questions of belonging and displacement.”

The Bug is an other-worldly creature with bright orange “skin” the color of Buddhist monk robes with a head piece based on the Islamic hijab. Together with photographer Masahiro Sugano (her creative partner from Studio Revolt), Anida brought the Bug to Cambodia, the country of her birth and of the Bug. She created a series of site-specific performances, inserting the Bug into urban and rural landscapes, resulting in humorous and surreal scenarios.

Anida describes these interactions: “The Bug traveled on a cyclo and remorque to visit various neighborhoods. Curiosity was a mutual reaction between the Bug and people. Many people stared. Some smiled and laughed. Others pointed. Some people tried to make contact. While on the campus of the Royal University of Phnom Penh, the Bug attempted to have lunch in the local cafeteria. No one wanted to sit near the Bug. During this trip, the Bug discovered an amazing stairway near the Central Market. Reacting with instinct, the Bug climbed the stairwell in the hopes of finding home.”

The exhibition opening and Cambodian premiere of The Buddhist Bug will take place on Friday, March 1st, 2013. The exhibition will bring together performance, photography and video works of the project and the 30 meter installation of The Buddhist Bug that will span across the space. During the opening Anida will perform as The Buddhist Bug. The works are exhibited at the well-known Java Gallery, a café and gallery space that has been dedicated to propagation of contemporary Cambodian art for over 12 years. As a space that functions at the intersection of daily life and higher art, it highlights the concept of the work as the embodiment of “otherness.”

The Buddhist Bug will also be exhibited concurrently on the Philanthropic Museum website, in collaboration with its founder and curator Patricia Levasseur de la Motte. For additional details, Patricia can be contacted at plm [at] thephilanthropicmuseum [dot] org, and more info found here http://www.thephilanthropicmuseum.org/.

Exhibition details
The Buddhist Bug
Anida Yoeu Ali
A project of Studio Revolt

March 1 – April 7, 2013
Java Gallery (upstairs)
56 Sihanouk Blvd, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Open daily 7am – 10pm
Free entrance