The second edition of ‘Pollination’ is co-developed with ILHAM Gallery involving curators Khatijah Rahmat (Malaysia) and Lê Thuân Uyên (Vietnam), as well as artists Izat Arif (Malaysia) and Hoàng Minh Đúc (Vietnam, based in Australia).

‘Domestic Bliss’ is the resulting exhibition of this edition, taking place from 16.11.2019 to 15.03.2020 at ILHAM Gallery (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).

By the 17th century, the word ‘domestic’ had borne the full weight of its significance, and was used expansively to mean ‘something made in the home’. Within this definition, two disparate artists, varying greatly in context and method, enter a shared quest to unpack the fragile and often precarious notion of home and belonging. As Izat Arif is wrapped in the social confines of being ‘Malay’ and as Hoàng Minh Đúc deals with his conundrum of cradling Vietnamese culture/customs assimilation, each artist asks: what is the price of ‘domestic bliss’? Must we always be conscripted in some way to the national mythology we were raised in? As a foreigner in another country, must we carry the full weight of our country’s reputation? For Izat Arif, this exploration requires a kind of autopsy of modern, myth-making institutions of nationhood through recreation and quiet humour. For Hoàng Minh Đúc, his raw, performative impulses unravel the notion of ‘outsider/ insider’ that haunts his professional and personal life.