Rirkrit Tiravanija’s Asile Flottant is a half-scale replica of the floating asylum barge that Swiss architect Le Corbusier designed in 1929 for the Salvation Army in Paris. Le Corbusier’s barge, moored on the Seine River, provided temporary overnight shelter for the Parisian underclass, who were otherwise found wandering the streets or sleeping under bridges. Tiravanija’s replica was built in Chiang Mai, one of few Thai cities that monks predict will survive an upcoming deluge. The barge will be reconstructed at the Center for Visual Communication’s main gallery. Tiravanija’s Asile Flottant houses a growing collection of political t-shirts, some designed by the artist and others collected from activists around the world. The t-shirts, with slogans invoking social messages, suggest the ease with which the body can be transformed into a politicized space. This will be the first installation of Asile Flottant in the United States.
