Works of different genres are fused to reflect contemporary issues during "Procession Of Dystopia" which is running at the studio, 4th floor of Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, Pathumwan intersection, until July 14.
The exhibition originates from Let Them See Us, Let Them Fear Us, Our Love Is A Rebellion They Cannot Crush, a short story Kanatorn Khaosanit wrote as a social reflection. It became the basis for two other artists to interpret through their new bodies of work -- The Body Craves Impact As Love Bursts by Wattanapume Laisuwanchai and Garden Of Insignificant Things by Khetsin Chuchan.
Kanatorn's literary work is a fusion of melodrama and soap opera, filled with idioms and expressions from Thai folk drama featuring a futuristic backdrop. It tells about a dystopian world ruled by the Ten Eyed clan, who regulates everything, including love.
This fictional dystopia resonates with issues in the real world -- control, oppression, violation of human rights, corrupt authorities and the struggle for freedom -- and readers are invited to question the value of freedom and romance.
The work also delves into the concept of immortality, prompting the question, "What is life when you can live forever but without love?" A pivotal statement in the story, "Eternity doesn't make love real" is one of the main turning points in the narrative, leading to a plot twist in the conclusion. Wattanapume's The Body Craves Impact As Love Bursts is a visual performance that seeks to depict the experience of being bedridden away from a loved one. It captures the combustion of loving energy, invisible to the eyes but palpable to both the body and the heart.
In Khetsin's installation Garden Of Insignificant Things, the sounds blend musical arrangements with field recordings, capturing the daily life, conversations, living organisms and environmental surroundings in Bangkok. These sounds reflect the lives within our society, where economic and social growth often overshadows the significance of individual lives, both human and non-human.
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