After a trip to Saatchi Gallery, a major exhibition by 23 artists called "Thailand Eye" has finally made it home to Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, where it will continue through August. When the exhibition first opened late last year in London, it created a buzz, with these 23 artists being selected from a longlist of as many as 200. The exhibition is the final instalment of a series of three cultural events marking the 60th birthday of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the first two being a khon performance at the Royal Albert Hall and the Thai Film Festival at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in June last year.
The buzz, however, isn't entirely positive. Being dubbed a "Thai contemporary art exhibition", questions have been raised as to how accurately the almost 60 artworks in the exhibition reflect contemporary Thai art (the fact that one of the selected artists is a German artist who's lived in Thailand for a long time doesn't exactly make it less questionable). That the exhibition is now set in Thailand, then, has presented new significance, both because of its geological location and because of its main audience.
"I don't think their focus is the success of each artist; it's more about the diversity of the artworks," said renowned Thai artist Panya Vijinthanasarn of the curatorial process by Apinan Poshyananda, permanent-secretary for the Ministry of Culture; Nigel Hurst, CEO of the Saatchi Gallery; and Serenella Ciclitira, founder of Parallel Contemporary Art. "I think the exhibition's focus includes coming up with a collection of contemporary art in the Thai style, the kind English people have never seen before."
Apinan said this group of artists reflects the state of contemporary art in Thailand. What's refreshing, the curator and permanent secretary said, is how the "eye" in question is more about how "others" look at us, rather than how we look at ourselves.
In this respect, it's true. Throughout the eighth floor of BACC, the sense of hierarchy of established and up-and-coming artists is almost non-existent. After entering the space, a collection of Panya Vijinthanasarn's paintings and a mixed-media installation is displayed close to sketches by Bussaraporn Thongchai, a relatively new face.
"They are looking at us with fresh eyes," said Apinan. "In Thailand, we have a number of National Artists, and if we had curated this ourselves, there would have been concerns regarding the seniority. In this exhibition, however, they could choose whoever they wanted."
Because of this curatorial process, Apinan said that the exhibition is full of juxtaposition and pleasant surprises. After an awe-inspiring self-portrait by Chatchai Puipia, there's a series of collage through sewing and cloth-layering by young female artist Paweena Raksasna. And this sense of juxtaposition continues. We see a series of photographs by young photographer Viriya Chotpanyavisut, next to Manit Sriwanichpoom's familiar Pink Man series and Kamolpan Chotivichai's hand-cut self-portrait photographs, which in turn are next to Silpathorn Award-winning artist Sakarin Krue-on's installation of imitation monkeys.
Although the exhibition is successful in its mix of male and female artists, as well as artists from both older and newer generations, the question remains of how accurately it reflects the state of contemporary Thai art. With the term "contemporary art", it's expected that the works directly engage the gravity of the present social and political situation, but there are hardly any such cases in the exhibition.
"Nigel [Hurst, CEO of the Saatchi Gallery,] points out that politics doesn't necessary mean bloodshed and guns," said Apinan. "Art is a subtle tool. Look at Chusak Srikwan's shadow play -- there are guns and tanks. Look at Sakarin's Monkeys in the House [showing an imitation monkey sitting with a pile of books]. He's talking about those who hold the power and whether the uneducated can read those books. These works are relevant to what's going on; it's just not obvious."
'Thailand Eye' is on display until Aug 7 at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.
Work by Panya Vijinthanasarn.
