Bangkok art: National parodies, claustrophobia and ghosts in the gallery

This year has been a turbulent one for both the local art scene and the country’s uncertain political landscape. But approaching 2011, Bangkok Art Map (BAM) editor Steven Pettifor says there have been optimistic signs of recovery for the capital’s galleries and the artists they support. 

“Let’s hope that the current normality on Bangkok’s streets is more than a mere respite and that a long-term solution can be found to the nation’s ongoing political woes,” he says in the December issue of BAM, published every month in Thai and English and distributed free in Bangkok. 

Here’s BAM’s list of the city's top art shows in the weeks ahead.

Longing For Siam, Inventing Thailand -- December 23 to January 15     

Known for engaging site-specific multimedia installations, Sutee Kunavichayanont chalks up his latest bitingly satirical exhibition to national and global perceptions of what it means to be Thai. 

In "Longing for Siam, Inventing Thailand," Sutee parodies the nationalism and patriotism of the 1930s and 40s, when the country was established as a constitutional monarchy under the prevailing spirit of Thai Mai (New Thailand).

Occupying the center of the gallery, a walled cube contains a regiment of some 600-soldier figurines juxtaposed with a projected video animation. The gallery walls meanwhile, are transformed with scrawled images and propaganda appropriated from period textbooks. Patriotic anthems resonate through the space, contributing to the awkward air of nostalgia.

Number 1 Gallery, Silom Galleria B1, 919/1 Silom Rd Soi 19. Tel: +66 (0)2 630 3381. Open Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-6 p.m. BTS: Surasak.   

Hope in the Dark -- December 16 to January 30, 2011 

Young artist Anupong Chantorn is no stranger to controversy. His depictions of scavenging, crowfaced monks drew scorn from Thailand’s Buddhist Council when he won the 2007 Gold Prize at the National Artist Awards.

In his latest series of drawings and paintings, Anupong maintains his emaciated figuration to deal with ethical issues of truth, deception, and faith.  

Ardel Gallery of Modern Art, 99/45 Belle Ville, Boromratchonnanee Rd (Km 10.5). Tel: +66 (0)2 422 2092. Open Tuesday-Saturday 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m., Sunday 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.   

Atmospheres and Loss Atmospheres -- December 2 to January 5, 2011

Currently on a residency at KMUTT, UK-based artist Raphael Jay Adjani presents two multimedia performances. Integrating film projection, live improvised music, light installation and architectural aspects, Adjani poetically layers visual and audio elements into a sublime immersive experience.

Ahead of the launch of his January riverside light installation, the Goldsmiths lecturer offers an interactive exploration into notions of the sacred, emptiness, and the relationship to place and time.  

December 2 at Bangkok Code, 231/2 South Sathorn Road. Tel: +66 (0)2 470 9920. Open noon-6 p.m. December 23-January 5 at Petralai Theatre at the Faculty of Accounting & Commerce, Chulalongkorn University. Tel: +66 (0)81 255 3417.  

Tourists, December 11 to January 30, 2011

With his wickedly satirical eye and colourful sense of humor, Dow Wasiksiri brings unique perspectives to Thai photography. In his latest series, Tourists, Dow looks to Thailand’s economic cash cow: tourism.

Turning the lens upon the curious behavioural aspects of travellers, the whimsical photos reveal much about our attitudes to new cultural experiences. 

Kathmandu Photo Gallery, 87 Soi Pan, Silom Road. Tel: +66 (0)2 234 6700. Open Tuesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. BTS: Chong Nonsi  

Ghost Identity, December 2-30

A lecturer at Bangkok University, Kata Sangkhae presents his latest sculptural installation pertaining to issues surrounding life and death, locality and identity.

Starting with the notion of “seeing ghosts in the gallery,” the installation includes a jewel encrusted animal skull alongside various self-portrait manifestations from his recent Let’s Make Kata in China series shown at this year’s Shanghai Expo.   

Koi Art Gallery, 43/12 Sukhumvit Soi 13. Tel: +66 (0)2 662 3218. Open daily, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. BTS: Phrom Phong  

Transient, December 1 to January 4, 2011

Jaruwat Boowaedlom, a graduate of Silpakorn University and winner of the Phillip Morris ASEAN Arts Awards 2002, presents his latest series of fragmented oil canvases examining movement, ritual, trace and presence through daily public environs.

Capturing the anonymity of fleeting encounters within the claustrophobic gathering points of a sprawling metropolis, Jaruwat has refined his staggered visual technique of layering images to convey the impersonal, disconnected nature of urban existence.  

H Gallery, 201 Soi 12 Sathorn Road. Tel: +66 (0)81 310 4428. Open 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Tuesday by appointment.  BTS: Surasak  

A Brief View of Everything, until December 25

Contemplative and challenging themes towards perceptions of life, our place within the cosmos, and the spiritual solace we seek in reasoning our existence, are all examined in the duo exhibition by Bangkok based British artist Justin Mills and Dutch-Italian artist Franco Angeloni.

Mills has painted a golden series entitled 48 Portraits of God, to which Angeloni responds with whimsical and thoughtful messages.  

Art Centre Chulalongkorn University, Centre of Academic Resources, Chulalongkorn University, Phaya Thai Road. Tel: +66 (0)2 218 2965. Open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-4 p.m. BTS: Siam   

Whose Land? Whose Art? -- December 15 to January 30, 2011

Coming from a country that lives in the shadow of the Great Wall, it’s of little surprise that these structures are often the focal point in the social architecture of Lin Yilin’s art.

Approaching themes associated to the commodification of land, the Chinese artist is erecting barriers at two sites in Thailand; a permanent wall at the outdoor setting of The Land Foundation in Chiang Mai (on December 11), and within the gallery at Tang.  

Tang Contemporary Art, Unit B-28 (Basement), Silom Galleria 919/1 Soi 19. Tel: +66 (0)2 630 1114. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.–7 p.m. BTS: Surasak   

Lyrics of Lines, December 4 to January 5, 2011

Initiating a proactive strategy to seek out Asia’s emerging creative talent, La Lanta launches its Young Programme with an exhibition by Silpakorn graduate student Jirachaya Pripwai, whose intricately crafted patterned line works on paper are executed as a meditative process. 

The program continues in 2011 with exhibitions by young artists from Vietnam and Japan.  

La Lanta, 245/14 Sukhumvit Soi 31. Tel: +66 (0)2 260 5381. Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. BTS: Phrom Phong