Exhibitions

‘THE SEA GHOST AND BEYOND’ by Ploenchan Vinyaratn − NOVA CONTEMPORARY

NOVA CONTEMPORARY

Aug 14 - Sep 19, 2020

^{All images by courtesy of NOVA CONTEMPORARY}

Inspired by how discarded fishing nets wreak havoc on ocean ecologies with each strand of ghostly nets entangling and strangling Mother Nature, Vinyaratn is determined to weave a utopian vision by exploring and incorporating the unwanted such as scraps of waste fabrics and dead-stock yarns, sea waste, as well as non-traditional elements—including hand-spun paper documents and used stockings—to construct the vibrant, intricate conglomerate.

As a contemporary weaver, Ploenchan Vinyaratn redefines the process and materials of tapestry by utilising new materials and forms. Her artistic practice arises from her environmental consciousness within this contemporary world, nurtured with the intensive weaving training in Europe It is often characterised by her jungle of concepts, fostered with her thorough research on traditional Thai textiles and patterns. However, her practice is not about merely creating objects, but the life revolving around the making. To her, the ‘weaving in making’ is where the conscientiousness, curiosity, and honesty prevails.

The Sea Ghost and Beyond reflects her scrutiny on materiality and its extremity in art. The exhibited obscure objects unyieldingly display her ambitions in expanding the materiality in objectivity. The sculptural work in the centre of the space, The Sea Ghost, evinces the past and future with an a beautifully monstrous embodiment of a time machine. Despite colonization ceasing in many parts of the world, The Sea Ghost showcases “the struggle to preserve the indigenous forms of heterogeneity still lives itself into out of western cotemporary.”

Textiles is long-considered a significant cultural tradition in Thailand. Weaving, too, is one of the most important categories to present Thai heritage and local wisdom. In contrast to tapestry in Europe, regarded as historical visual documentations, weaving in Southeast Asia has continuously embedded Thai culture and everyday lives. It is unimaginable to discuss Thai Contemporary Art in the absence of weaving.

Therefore, through this exhibition, Nova Contemporary presents a conceptual space to discuss the thoughts on the existing boundaries between art and craft, as well as the possible reflections on Marcel Duchamp’s attempt to recast the idea of labour and visual product and Michel Foucault’s thoughts on heterogeneity.

As Annie Albers said, “Besides surface qualities, such as rough and smooth, dull and shiny, hard and soft, textiles also include colour, and, as the dominating element, texture, which is the result of the construction of weaves. Like any craft it may end in producing useful objects, or it may rise to the level of art.”

Artist's Profile:

Ploenchan Vinyaratn
b. 1972



Education
- Bachelor of Arts, second honour in woven textile at Central St. Martin’s College of Art & Design, London, England, 1995.
- Diploma degree in Art Foundation course at Middlesex University, London, England, 1991.

Solo Exhibition
2015 WOMB, Textile Exhibition, Serindia Gallery, Bangkok Thailand
2016 Nestscape, Art installation, Art Stage Singapore 2016

Group exhibitions

Highlights
​2019 Louis Vitton concept store, Central Floresta in Phuket,
       MookV collaboration with Louis Vuitton Headquarters
2018 Louis Vitton concept store, ICON SIAM,
       MookV collaboration with Louis Vuitton Headquarters in Paris in 2017
2002 Senior Designer, exclusive upholstery fabric range for HRH Palace in Hua Hin Province
1998-2003 Design Consultant, Mae Fah Luang Foundation

Awards
2005 GOOD DESIGN AWARD for outstanding design from JIDP
       (Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization)
2004 Rewarded Fabric Design Excellence 2004-2005 from Elle Decoration Thailand,
       Received Silapakorn University Excellence Silver Prize Award,
2004 Designer of the Year 2004 Award, Custom designed and produced unique textile art wall
       pieces for Hansar Bangkok, Le Meridien Chiang Rai, and Hotel de la Paix in Siem Riap.

SUPPORT Foundation Shop, Grand Palace, Bangkok
Conceptual Design Advisor, Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles at The Grand Palace
Artist and Co-Founder Beyond Living Co., Ltd