Exhibitions
WTF Galley
Oct 06 - Oct 30, 2020
All images courtesy of WTF gallery
WTF gallery is pleased to announce a contemporary art exhibition entitled ‘STATUS IN STATU by Seven Thai artists:
Nutdanai Jitbunjong
Thanabodee Wattanarak
Tanaphon Inthong
Nipan Oranniwesna
Prateep Suthathongthai
Mit Jai In
Ronnagorn Kerdchot
‘STATUS IN STATU: is a group exhibition organised by the group of art practitioners behind the Khon Kaen Manifesto. Inaugurated in October 2018, this bi-annual event took place in the unorthodox location – a non-white cube gallery or museum that allowed artists to genuinely embed themselves with the oppressed and to present unique stories through the participation of ordinary citizen.
At that time, Khon Kaen was still under martial law due to the ongoing resistance against the junta by Red Shirts in the province, which was exacerbated when a student activist, Jatupat Boonpattararaksa aka Pai Dao Din was sentenced for two years and six months on a lese majeste charge resulting from his sharing of a BBC report profiling the monarch in 2017.
Khon Kaen Manifesto's objective is to present the socio-cultural narrative of Isaan (the populous northeast of Thailand) through an aesthetics of resistance and participatory art.
This year, the Manifesto will extend to a second venue in Ubon Ratchathani, one of the four major cities of Isaan. It is a city redolent of historical resistance events including Phi Bun Rebellion (1901-1902), Isaan Ministers and the Free Thai Movement (1933–1949), Pak Mun Dam and the Assembly of the Poor(1990-1995), The Red Shirts and the burning of the town hall (2006). Ubon is also a hometown of Wanchalerm Satsaksit, a political exile who was recently abducted in Phnom Penh.
The exhibition is curated specifically for the Bangkokians, who have little or no knowledge or interest in the history of the decades-long struggle between Isaan and central power in Bangkok. They were created for both the previous and upcoming Manifestos and Ubon Agenda between 2018 and 2020.
The exhibition consists of seven artworks that hope to raise ceiling of tolerance and tackle seemingly taboo subjects to see if democracy is at all sustainable in Thai society. Can people in this country – or for that matter anywhere – endure points of view they do not agree with, rather than screaming them down, banning them, and reaching for their real or metaphorical guns?
The exhibition is supported by MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum, Koh Kae and Shaka Grill & Bar
