A concrete signature of Jedsada Tangtrakulwong's art concerns two features: The concept of site specificity, which often includes the history and meaning of the place of his exhibition, and an interactive quality, which persuades the audience to play with his artwork.
Jedsada Tangtrakulwong's exhibition "Swing"
"Swing", or "Wiang", is his latest solo showcase at Tadu-Thaiyarnyon Contemporary Art. Earlier this year, the artist participated in two group art projects; "Monologue Dialogue 3: Fragility And Monumentality" at the BACC and "Walking A Tightrope" at Tang Gallery Bangkok.
"Wiang", the Thai title, can be interpreted at least three ways. It can mean the action of flinging something, it can signify a momentum and it is the modern slang word for grumpy. Those three essences are considered and toyed with through his interactive exhibition.
Jedsada proposes the notion of speed, dynamics and the vehicle and automotive industry to Tadu gallery and this is where the site-specific quality of the concept comes in. Tadu used to be part of Mitsubishi Motor's maintenance department; the gallery is on the 2nd floor of the car showroom in the Thaiyarnyon Building. That is probably how Jedsada connects his new exhibition with the historical and functional discourses of Futurism. In the early 20th century, a group of European artists in Italy established an art movement called Futurism, which glorified and explored the idea of technological innovation and development. Jedsada, indirectly, uses some of Futurism's legacy to re-interpret their definition of rapidity, power and locomotion as we're experiencing in our period of "fastness".
Wiang fully benefits from automotive equipment, tools and spare parts that could be found in the storage of the showroom, for instance, vehicles' doors, headlights, jacks, stainless pillars and tyres etc. Jedsada said that "most objects are chosen based on the 3Rs; reduce-reuse-recycle".
Meanwhile, the dark, hallucinatory red atmosphere created by incandescent lamps in the gallery evokes the oppressive glow of taillights on the road. It seems like the red dots constantly move forward. And the artist accidentally found an effect of using incandescent lamp to provide a reflection on the ceiling, which looks like a corona. All pieces are installed in this obscure environment where the audience can perceive a sense of uncertainty and danger.
The exhibition can be roughly compared to a playground. There are about 10 stations of installation pieces made by numerous automotive parts, each of them asking for a viewer's interaction as we go through each "checkpoint".
The main apparatus is a number of pendulums made from strung-together rubber bands — similar to what Thai children used to play with as skipping ropes. Together with balls made also from rubber bands, these are the devices that intend for the viewer to play with and make sounds. You throw a ball at a mark or a spot, then "hear" the consequences of your participation as the ball hits different objects — automobile parts, mostly. Each station hence releases different sounds, echoes and noises, depending on speed, power and position. Some may connect this demonstration with sound sculpture. But Jedsada's idea is to keep the audience conscious of his or her action in order to control the ball — and thus to control the exhibition in a way.
The Wiang series builds up an extraordinary experience and interpretation. But at the basic level, you can just enjoy it, like a game. It often happens, however, that interactive projects in Thailand don't succeed because people aren't willing to take part, or are simply not interested.
"This is an experiment. Mostly my work triggers collaboration, participation and interaction that the audience usually cannot experience from two-dimensional work," said Jedsada.
In rethinking Futurism, the artist seems to be evoking our shared experience in a high-end technological age that's still unable to find a suitable equilibrium between life and the speed of innovation. Although this interactive exhibition does not reveal the whole scale of this paradigm, we could realise it through the relation of objects and our actions — through the sound and visual oppressiveness. As we throw the ball and hear it hit something, we may question it if the sound is of industrial waste or the echo of strange capitalism that dictates our life today.
Visit www.facebook.com/pages/Tadu-Art-Page/263617553724181.
Jedsada Tangtrakulwong’s exhibition ‘Swing’.
