Exhibitions

Group Exhibition ‘Un-Forming’- Gallery VER

Gallery VER

Oct 19 - Nov 23, 2024

^{Arin Rungjang, Mother's Journey to Mount Kailash, 2024, Oil painting 100 x 56 cm
All images courtesy of Gallery VER }

Our shared planet is increasingly being confronted by unpredictable, abrupt, and continuous changes to natural environments. Gallery VER would like to invite gallerygoers to explore the potential of human beings to not only adapt themselves to, but also rehabilitate from, such severe conditions. This artistic survey of the works of eleven artists under the title “Un-Forming” attempts to (re)connect people with their organic surroundings, as well as with the diversity and changeability of others. For this project, ‘water’ has been chosen as the major theme due to its highly flexible, fluid, flowing, and shape-shifting characteristics.

“Un-Forming” extrapolates the notion of fluidity borrowed from the symbol of water to the concepts of thinking, emotion, and remembrance. Several artists featured in this exhibition utilize water as their starting point in exploring sustainability and culture, as well as the connection between individuals and other people, society, and environment. Their main task is reminding us of the important role of humans as but one category of habitants in our global community and natural world. With the impact and guidance of the artworks, viewers may ponder the position of themselves and others as contributors to the tackling of the issue of transformation of nature, no matter the background from which they originate: social activists, artists, or members of the general population. Another message conveyed in this show relates to the realization that human beings possess an impressive capacity for resilience in the face of environmental changes and catastrophes, despite extreme difficulties.

The artists represented in “Un-Forming” utilize various strategies in presenting their ‘water’-related messages. Some employ their preferred techniques and materials in an artistic way to illuminate the issues and ties between culture and natural surroundings. Others utilize contemporary and/or mixed media techniques to posit ideas about our complex social structures. Others still arrange their works in an attempt to launch their viewers into exercises of sensory experience. Regardless of material and method, the curation of all pieces exhibited in this show is based on the objective of reflecting the unique, individual perspective of each artist, as well as relating to two major discourses, those of ‘change’ and ‘self-adjustment.

Writer: Pattara Danutra

Artists:
　Arin Rungjang
　Be Takerng Pattanopas
　Chitti Kasemkitvatana
　Disorn Duangsao
　Ros Kamolros
　Ruangsak Anuwatwimon
　Som Supaparinya
　Thasnai Sethaseree
　Thavika Savangwongsakul
　Viriya Chotpanyavisut
　Wantanee Siripattananuntakul
　Yujin Lee

About Artists

Arin Rungjang (b. 1975, Bangkok) is a pioneer of installation art in Thailand whose practice Is deeply intertwined with Southeast Asian histories, symbols, and memories, and addresses how social, economic, and political transformations affect individuals' lives.
 
Be Takerng Pattanopas (b. 1965, Thailand) Pattanopas’s practice emerges from twin obsessions with space within and space without. His drawings, installations, paintings, and sculptures explore the human body’s interior, which can be symbolized to suggest the infinity of the cosmos.
 
Chitti Kasemkitvatana's (b. 1969, Bangkok) methodology relies on a research-based art practice that involves the use of archival fragments and spatial practice.
 
Disorn Duangsao's (b. 1973, Bangkok) practice involves constructing sets of symbolic language within objects and finding meaning within twisted structures. Disorn's aesthetic opens up a diverse dialogue encompassing nature, society, politics, and history, all within the realm of an exchange area for reform and reconstruction.
 
Ros Kamolros (b. 1992, Bangkok): her work examines urban subjects and forms, repositioning their sub-cultural, cross-societal, and historical essences. She takes these pervasive structures and creates a dialogue around deeper power relations.
 
Ruangsak Anuwatwimon (b. 1975, Bangkok) is a multidisciplinary artist whose work is related to the issues of nature, the environment, local superstition, and the disastrous consequences of human activities and consumption.
 
Som Supaparinya (b. 1973, Chiangmai) Her works encompass various media, such as installation objects and still and moving images, which have been produced mainly with a documentary and experimental approach.
 
Thasnai Sethaseree (b. 1968, Bangkok) Thasnai is best known for his conceptual and relational works, usually ephemeral; his practice has recently turned to sculpture and painting.
 
Thavika Savangwongsakul (b. 2000, Bangkok) Savangwongsakul is recognized for her dynamic mixed media creations, skillfully translating complex emotions and ephemeral thoughts into compelling visual expressions. Primarily a painter, Savangwongsakul’s practice continues to explore various mediums, expanding into painting-based installation art.
 
Viriya Chotpanyavisut (b. 1982, Bangkok) Viriya's work delves into intricate details often overlooked. presenting a silent and isolated world that encourages viewers to explore beneath the surface, fostering emotional reflection over explicit facts.
 
Wantanee Siripattananuntakul's (b. 1974, Bangkok) works are grounded on social, political, economic, and cultural issues as critical views that touch upon questions about the meaning of life. Most of her renowned past works are in video art, sculptures, and installations based on the utilization of many new forms of media.
 
Yujin Lee (b. 1986, Korea) is a visual artist and a collaborator living and working on Jeju Island, South Korea, where she also runs an experimental artist residency named Next Door to the Museum. Guided by the rural life on the island, her practice revolves around ecological thinking and relationship building.