Outlook News - Thursday December 20, 2007
ART REVIEW
A PERVASIVE THEME
An art exhibition on corruption highlights some widespread truths
PATTARA DANUTRA
Local gallery-goers often complain that exhibitions on political issues are rare. Ironically, when an artist steps forth and makes a straightforward political comment through their art, they get little attention. Such, unfortunately, is the case with The Art of Corruption, an exhibition currently on show at the Office of Contemporary Art and Culture Art Gallery.
For this exhibition, 10 conceptual artists and eight graphic artists have produced works that articulate a political message. However, few people are likely to be exposed to it given the exhibition's location and viewing space.
The location, in what is actually a business space on the first floor of the TPI building, is not a major flaw. (The now-defunct Art Atelier Gallery in the eTisco building proved that a functional gallery could operate within a business building.) However, the location's outlook is a problem. The space was originally designed as the building's reception hall, so its glossy environment of broad windows and shining floors is distracting.
Another problem is accessibility. The venue cannot be reached by mass transit. Such difficulty may be enough to deter potential visitors and the Office of Contemporary Art and Culture may want to think twice before holding another exhibition in its headquarters.
Finally, it is a pity that many of the works displayed in this show are poorly installed. Some have no English title or credits, some have an irritating chemical smell while others have not been given their own section and are poorly illuminated.
Despite these practical issues, the leading artists taking part in the exhibition live up to their reputations, and the graphic works are particularly distinguished.
To present a forum of anti-corruption (a relatively boring topic for Thais), the exhibition features a variety of media: Paintings, prints, video art, animation, sculptures, installation and stage performance. Such variety is rarely found in one exhibition.
Through irony and creative presentation, the artists have succeeding in not making their anti-corruption messages too didactic. The most subtle piece, for example, is Wit Pimkan-chanapong's If There Is No Corruption. This wall-sized graphic work shows a map of an imagined mass transit route called the ITINC (an acronym derived from the work's title) that would link all major areas of Bangkok. As the imagined transport network is only that, the map illustrates how corruption has stymied possibilities for development in Thailand.
Sutee Kunavichayanont always provides one of two signature gimmicks: Viewer's participation or a room-scale installation. In this exhibition, his Great Cheat Great Cheat: Children of Srithanonchai follows the second trait. The temporary room is decorated with a number of mobiles and coated with wallpaper featuring Thai-style images using the words keng (smart) and kong (cheating). Two groups of objects are housed in the room: Small blackboards with moral words such as metta (mercy), suesat (honesty) and yuttitam (fairness) written on them and a set of mural-like images depicting the story of Sri Thanonchai, a well-known figure from Thai folklore who achieved high standing in the royal court through his wit and charm.
The use of Sri Thanonchai is continued in two oil paintings by Ing K entitled Gestation Sri Thanonchai. The canvases portray a pregnant lady holding a book on Sri Thanonchai in one hand. Both Sutee and Ink K are criticising the associating of "smart" with "cheating", which has been passed on through generations of Thai society. While Ing K criticises parents for passing on this immoral concept to children, Suteehas suggests education can correct it. The works of these two artists, carrying a sub-theme of corruption and Thai ideology, share a corner of the exhibition.
Viewers interaction is called for in Manit Sriwanichpoom and Kamol Paosawasdi's contributions to the exhibition. Manit's Collateral Damage gives viewers torches to view his monochrome photographs inside a dark room. The photographs are of children suffering from exposure to pollution at an industrial area.
Kamol's Hall of Fame is a replica voting booth where viewers are invited to write something on small paper sheets before inserting them into a ballot box. Instead of selecting candidates, the ballot asks participants to identify the most corrupt politicians, individuals or organisations.
The two animation works in the exhibition are by Kwansuang Atibodhi, an urban planning scholar-cum-political activist, and Sakarin Krue-On, the first Thai artist to participate in the world-renowned Documenta 12 exhibition in Kassel, Germany.
A puppet show by Vasan Sittiket is also included in the exhibition as a video projection.
All around the exhibition are posters on the theme of corruption. Some seem too straight-forward and somehow propagandistic in their approach. Remarkably, many works displayed target the former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as an icon of Thai corruption.
The exhibition was opened on December 11 with a speech by Prof Benedict Anderson from Cornell University followed by a stage performance by the Crescent Moon theatre group and a shadow puppet show by Vasan Sittiket. Tomorrow, another free stage programme will be held from 2 to 5pm that will include poetry readings and a pantomime play by the Baby Mime group.
The Art of Corruption will be on show until January 20 next year. The venue, OCAC Art Gallery, is open daily from 10am to 6pm except on Mondays. It is located on the first floor of TPI Tower on Narathiwat Ratchanakharin Road. For more information, call 02-678-6666
Bangkok Post
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