Palette Artspace presents "2D Afterlife", an art exhibition that pays tribute to dead fictional characters still living in the memory of many fans, until Aug 3.
An oil painting by Jinnipha Nivasabut. (Photo courtesy of facebook.com/palette.artspace)
On display is a collection of 50 oil paintings by Thai artist Jinnipha Nivasabut who touches on parasocial interaction some people form with their favourite characters in novels, motion pictures and cartoons.
Even though these characters don't live in real life, the feeling of liking, love, hatred or intimacy the audiences have towards them can lead to the production of participatory fan culture in such forms as a gathering of fans who like the same media or characters, an exchange of opinions among fans, fan art, fan fiction, cosplaying and other similar activities.
The concept also covers the feelings of loss, grief or even satisfaction of fans once these characters die in their respective media.
Jinnipha presents real-life paintings in the form of funeral portraits to show that the imaginary lives of those fictional characters can really exist in the minds of the audience who regard them as their acquaintances or friends. In their eyes, the eventual deaths of the characters look so real as that of an actual person.
The artist also plays with words in the exhibition's title as "2D" can refer to the fictional character in "two-dimensional" television or comic books and also "to the" (into, toward).
Therefore, "2D Afterlife" celebrates the life after the death of the fictional characters, whose lives never exist but, through death, they carry on living as a long-lasting memory -- the product of participatory fan culture.
The gallery is on Sukhumvit 55 (close to BTS Thong Lo Exit 3) and opens daily from 7.30am to 9pm.
