Artist Disorn Duangdao is one of the many people who has seen the Mekong River in Chiang Khong, Chiang Rai, change from muddy brown to an aquamarine colour. Although the blue river looks beautiful to tourists, it is actually a sign that the river is starving of vital sediment because dams in China are preventing it from flowing downstream. Another negative impact caused by the dam is that the river has dried up so much that the rocks in the bed can be seen for the first time.
Disorn could not ignore the issue in front of him, so he decided to stone rub the rock's surface texture onto a piece of paper with brown charcoal. That paper was later developed into an artwork Rock In The Center Of Mekong River at the solo exhibition "Interbeing (Light Travels From The Past)" on view at Gallery VER.
"China has also planned to blast shallow parts of the Mekong so that their large ships which carry products from China can dock in Thailand. Their products are imported and sold in Bangkok. The dam was also built to produce hydroelectricity for people in China. When I was in Chiang Khong, I noticed that people there relied more on sunlight and moonlight. They turned off their lights early at night. There are no massive department stores like in Bangkok, so they did not benefit much from the dam," said Disorn.
The blue acrylic painting New Dawn Fades. The circular painting is titled Light Travels From The Past and depicts the moonlight. The aluminium sculpture is called An Islet As Beautiful As Glorious Sun.
"The word, 'interbeing' was coined by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk. It means everything is connected. I believe all things are related and are a reflection of one another. Karma is a result of our actions and our past actions dictate what happens in the present," he added.
The exhibition connects two areas -- capital and rural. While the large space next to the entrance represents the rural area, the small space located deeper inside the gallery represents the capital. The artwork Introduction consisting of 10 wooden shelf drawers of the same size as Thailand's symbolic 1932 constitution displaying 10 different messages such as "Rocks erode over time", "The poor are underneath", "Capitalism sucks the soul", and "Stand up, fighters, for power shift". The introduction emphasises that everything is connected. Every issue in the exhibition -- whether it be environmental issues of the Mekong or capitalism, political conflict, political protest or constitutional amendments -- links inseparably to one another.
Dear Holy Beings Please Bring Forth mixes colours with blessed water and incense ashes.
Disorn created various forms of art for his exhibition from painting, sculpture and installation to video. Most artwork in the larger section of the exhibition relates to the Mekong. The main sculpture, An Islet As Beautiful As Glorious Sun, is made from recycled aluminium. It was inspired by a rock with a hole in the Mekong which was eroded by a whirlpool. The rock sculpture is placed parallel to the blue acrylic painting New Dawn Fades. Visitors can see the blue colour reflecting in the rock sculpture. Next to the rock sculpture, Disorn created a circular painting, Light Travels From The Past, which is illustrated by colours mixed with phosphorus in order to create a texture similar to the Moon's. This circular painting depicts the moonlight which rural people benefit from more than power plants. Disorn also brought some water from the Mekong and mixed it with colours for his paintings.
People is made of envelopes from the campaign for constitutional amendment last year.
"I would like to have something from the Mekong River to include in my paintings. In the black painting, Dear Holy Beings Please Bring Forth, I mixed colours with blessed water and incense ashes. Visitors can smell the incense when they come close to the painting. I wanted to convey that people in the countryside do not receive enough support from the government, so they have to ask for help from invisible powers. I also display dry bamboo leaves in Tathata. In Buddhism, tathata means it is what it is. It does not mean to let things go but it means to accept how things are," explained Disorn.
Most of the artwork in the smaller section tackles political issues. A silver sprayed box showcases a stone entitled Sowing Rice In The Spring Time, 500 Tonne Ship, which is related to capitalism.
The first art piece of the exhibition, Rock In The Center Of Mekong River. (Photo by Somchai Poomlard)
"Due to the Thailand-China free trade agreement, many products from China are imported to Thailand and we lose money because our production cannot match China's. The box was filled with fruits from China which were imported for sale at Talad Thai Market. The stone, which is displayed in the box, was brought from the Mekong River. I will return it after the exhibition, however, I want to raise the question, which one is more important -- our stone and nature or products from China?" he said.
The installation, Blind, a national flag stained black, is hung on the branch of a tamarind tree. This artwork was created in 2010 after the Thai military crackdown on the red-shirt protesters. Disorn, who lived in the protest area, was affected by the crackdown when his utilities were cut off.
An Islet As Beautiful As Glorious Sun was made from recycled aluminium.
"The crackdown reminded me of the October 6, 1976, massacre where people were hung, killed and abused. It was devastating. During the crackdown, tyres were burned and I saw the national Thai flag in Pluk Chit School turn black. That inspired me to create Blind which was on display at the exhibition 'Imagine Peace' arranged by the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre in 2010. The tamarind branch refers to the hanging incident at the Oct 6 massacre. I also took a photo of a sign for Soi Pluk Chit and named it Bullet, because viewers can see bullet holes through the sign," he said.
"People is a sculpture made of hundreds of envelopes piled on top of each other to resemble a door. The envelopes come from the signature collection campaign by iLaw, a non-profit organisation, for constitutional amendments last year. I was not interested in political issues until they affected people around me. My art presentation is another way to voice concern and raise awareness which will hopefully be helpful. I believe that political issues are something everyone can discuss. We do not need to resort to killing others or treating our opponents inhumanely."
Sowing Rice In The Spring Time, 500 Tonne Ship.
Disorn is an artist who likes to explore new materials and techniques. His exhibition does not limit art forms and he is satisfied with the result.
"Art can voice unfairness in various forms. The exhibition is a new dimension of me. Art is about freedom of thinking, so I try to not limit my style," said Disorn.
"Interbeing (Light Travels From The Past)" runs at Gallery VER, Narathiwat Ratchanakarin Soi 22 until March 28. Visit facebook.com/galleryVER or call 02-120-6098 for more information.
