Path 14, The River Flows Two Ways is a site-responsive project that begins with a performance and a poem - the artist’s exploration of the dwelling of words in our lands, and our bodies. In his performance for the camera, Boedi makes ink rubbings of the Mekong River’s boulders and rocks. Through the physical mark-making process, the river’s prehistoric geographical material is transposed into an image, a proto-writing of land, water and memories. Boedi’s sensing of the Mekong extends into its molecular signatures, he samples the water to sequence DNA strands and microbial life. Boedi’s poem, “Rivers and lakes/ Tanah dan air/ Land and water/ Sungai sejarah”, summons geographical features in English and Bahasa Indonesia to recall multiple cultural associations. The project is presented as four installations in the Thailand Biennale: a three-channel film; an outdoor installation of Morse-coded flags; ink frottage of the Mekong rocks on silk; and a sonic sculpture. In the last two works, the poem is written in synthetic DNA and the biomaterial infused within. 

The project is supported by the National Arts Council Singapore, and made in collaboration with geneticist Associate Professor Eric Yap of Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Doy Din Dang Pottery, Harry Chew, Weme Creation, Jonathan Yip, and Audrey Koh.