STIRLING SILLIPHANT TAKES A TOUR OF THAILAND’S EXCITING ARTS SCENE – PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE LATE in his reign as King Rama V, the brilliant Chulalongkorn undertook two extensive tours to Europe. He made a first impression so dazzling that Britain and France capped their colonial ambitions on Siam, while his appreciation for Western culture birthed modern Thai visual art and architecture. The King was not really taken wiTheurope’s food, however, preferring to cook his own on the road. One century later, another Thai visionary with a knack for networking used cooking to showcase his culture abroad. Nomadic artist Rirkrit Tiravanija, the Argentine-born son of Thai diplomats, turned New York’s Paula Allen Gallery into a noodle kitchen. Known simply as “Pad Thai”, the work integrated artist, audience and medium, creating quite a stir. Steven Pettifor, author of Flavours: Thai Contemporary Art, wrote that Rirkrit “creates spirited dialogues rather than permanently tangible objects.” This fundamentally Buddhist focus on the present moment became both the subject and prerequisite of much Thai contemporary art in the 1990s. With the upward mobility of Thailand’s economic boom years (mid-1980s to 1997) came a devil-may-care hubris. Just as people’s values were fixated on possession and accumulation, contemporary art lacked long-term vision, both in terms of stylistic innovation and conceptual breadth. Much art became dominated by explicit “Thai” themes of Buddhist iconography and nostalgia, representative of the “Thai way of life” in the same way that Norman Rockwell’s baseball and fountain drinks are of American culture. INSPIRING TIMES Then came the crash and the massive devaluation of the baht in May 1997. As an Asia-wide economic meltdown unfolded, Thai artists responded swift ly and vigorously. Just as with the globally repercussive events of 9/11 and the Boxing Day tsunami, the crash not only supplied artists with topical material but also created a unifying philosophy. Painters like Mitree Parahom and notorious rabble-rouser Vasan Sitthiket focused their ire on superpowers like America and Japan. These artists, Pettifor explains, “vented their frustration [at] Westernisation spelling the end of what was virtuous, wholesome and Thai.” Others such as Sutee Kunvichayanont and Sakarin Krue-on treated inward reflection as an antidote to the materialism and spiritual vacancy of recent times, finding allies in the emerging art circles. A network of dedicated and creative talents emerged, engaging new forms and practices to reinvent Thai visual culture.

Today, we’re standing between globalisation and location, tradition and contemporary culture, Buddha and cyberspace

Contrary to the timeless classic Siamese essences on display at The National Gallery, the 21st century has seen the emergence of many clashing, erratic representations of what it means to be Thai. Such works were exhibited at maverick, experimental spaces like About Café and Project 304, bringing a refreshing East Village flair to Bangkok. As Gridthiya Gaweewong, Project 304’s curator, explains, “Being Thai is all about hybridisation. Today, we’re standing between globalisation and location, tradition and contemporary culture, Buddha and cyberspace.” With prerequisites thrown out of the window, art and exhibition became available to anybody who had or could find the space to host it. Thai banks began off ering low-interest loans to small business owners to aid economic recovery, and the late 1990s saw the creation of dozens of miniscule, quirky “art cafés”. Exhibiting anything from microwaved pastels to chewed lollipops at boozy opening parties, these establishments brought a previously unthinkable irreverence to the scene that transformed the way art was being viewed in Bangkok. NEW BLOOD Emphasising their quirks and exploring what makes them diff erent, Thai artists found the key to their international panache. “Aft er the crash, there’s been increased interest,” says Manuporn Luengaram, exhibition and project manager of the Queen’s Gallery. “Young, emerging Thai artists are now highly sought aft er by international curators. This comes to the issue of a cultural identity that appealed to the West.” “Every year, international curators [come to Bangkok] looking for prominent and undiscovered talents,” popular local artist Manit Sriwanichpoom explains. “Paradoxically, the Thai art community cannot produce enough interesting artists for the increasing demand.” American dealer H Ernest Lee was so impressed with the visual astuteness of young Thais a few years back that he decided to stay in Bangkok. Lee has since nurtured a crop of young artists, helping to get their work exhibited and sold both locally and abroad. With a New York City branch, his H Gallery now guarantees bi-national exposure to exhibitors. At Lee’s splashy “drinks parties” – loyally attended by a corps of journalists, art students, wealthy expatriates and jet-setting Thais – a new type of art market emerged, cultivating a trendy, cosmopolitan identity for Thai art. One of Lee’s prodigies, US-educated “weave artist” Jakkai Siributr, revolutionised the way textile design – long thought of as craft rather than expression – is perceived. Manit Sriwanichpoom, whose works appeared in the 2003 Venice Biennale, has shift ed his focus from the polarised landscape of Bangkok (captured in his 1999 book Bangkok in Black & White) to the issue of dissent being branded “unpatriotic”. The “NeoNationalism” show that he curated was one of last year’s most talked-about and well-attended exhibitions, drawing over 1,400 visitors. Working with retouched photographs, Manit addresses the issues of consumerism, inequality, avarice and public aspirations through bright, hyper-colourised images. No less political, Sutee Kunvichayanont employs interactive techniques to pull the viewer into his work. He uses various media to invite the viewer to “activate” the art, sparking interpretation at the moment (and on the site) where his work is viewed. “The White Elephant (Breath Collecting)” comments on the state of a national icon: the endangered Thai elephant is viewed as an inanimate rubber creature attached to latex hoses through which viewers try, but fail, to breathe life. One of the most interesting Thai artists working today, Sakarin Krue-on also participated in “Neo-Nationalism”. A professor of art at Silapakorn University, the country’s first and leading art institute, Sakarin plays off traditional Buddhist aesthetics within a contemporary framework, creating provocative yet uplift ing work. “Yellow Simple” (2001) transformed a tiny basement gallery into an ethereal space, rife with spiritual density and meditative harmony. Hundreds of small ear sculptures and stencils adorned the walls and columns. In the centre lay a hollow head moulded from cellulous fibre that looked – apparently unintentionally – like the Buddha.

”The 21st century has seen many clashing representations of what it means to be Thai”

IN THE PICTURE Th rough increased networking between curators, artists and foreign institutions, the art scene in Thailand continues to keep pace with the international arena. The first step for the new millennium was the establishment of the O[fb03] ce of Contemporary Art and Culture under Dr Apinan Poshyananda’s direction – OCAC has engineered Thai representation at two Venice Biennales. The second will surely be the Bangkok Metropolitan Association’s Art Centre, the first ever permanent home for contemporary Thai art and international shows, slated to soft -open by end of 2006. Within the next three years, OCAC plans an international-standard contemporary arts venue on the scale of Tokyo’s Mori Centre. Clearly, the world can expect many more great things from Thailand’s future generation of artists. ART AND ABOUT In recent years, every place with four walls (sometimes even less!) has seemingly been an art café/restaurant. Beginning in the shophouses of Th anon Phra Athit, just off backpacker enclave Khao San, the trend was a hit with students from nearby Silapakorn and Th ammasat Universities and other “creative” types. Pioneering Hemlock (tel +66 (0)2 282-7507) still dishes out great Thai food in sleekly minimalist yet invitingly tropical style, with original art on the walls. Next door, cosy Bar Bali (tel +66 (0)2 629-0318) is run by twin sisters and cultural workers Ae and Imp – if they are not hosting something themselves, they’ll at least know who is. A newer place keeping the spirit alive in the Old Town is Arts Room (tel +66 (0)2 629-7290, www.atartroom.com), popular with students. Th ough oriented more towards selling works and lacking in wall space, Baan Kraichitti (tel +66 (0)2 282-7266, www.kraichittigallery.com) hosts photography and painting shows in a lovingly restored Rama V-era house – coffee is from the period-piece Starbucks downstairs. Getting customers rip-roaring drunk is the management’s focus at Phranakorn Bar (tel +66 (0)2 622-0282), but that doesn’t stop them from hanging stuff on the second floor’s concrete walls – sometimes. The eat-drink, art-social space of the moment is Gallery F-Stop (tel +66 (0)2 663-7421, www.galleryfstop.com), which hosts consistently good photo exhibitions and attracts Bangkok’s young, creative-worker types. Attached restaurant Tamarind Café is also the best veggie restaurant in town, with a full juice/tea/cocktail/wine bar and a lovely gardened rooft op for al fresco dinner or drinks. For a homey dining experience, Tuba (tel +66 (0)2 711-5500) is a gallery and restaurant rolled into one. It’s run by a retrophile collector, and replete with colourful sofas, lamps and a delicious Thai-Italian menu. Eat Me! (tel +66 (0)2 238-0931) is an upmarket contemporary Asian fusion restaurant, with artworks from nearby H Gallery on display and for sale. Also purveying Asian fusion cuisine with a Japanese accent, and attracting aff able indie types, Pla Dib (tel +66 (0)2 279-8185) has fantastic food and engaging shows up every few months. For better or worse, mall culture has placed its bid in the local arts scene with the creation of uber-chic Playground! (tel +66 (0)2 714-9616, www.playgroundstore.co.th). Last year’s Yayoi Kusama exhibit teemed with the hip and hungry, and landed in the pages of the New York Times. Making earnest stabs at full-scale multimedia art exhibits incorporating dance, painting, music and spoken word, the House of Indies (tel +66 (0)2 664-0399, www.houseofindies.com) resides in a serene rooft op garden. In the near future, the “art hotel” may very soon take the place of the “art café”. At Reflections: Rooms in Bangkok (tel +66 (0)2 270-3344, www.refl.ections-thai.com), stay in a room designed by Thai artists. GALLERIES 100 Tonsoon Gallery (tel +66 (0)2 684-1527, www.100tonsongallery.com); Art Gallery, Silapakorn University (tel +66 (0)2 221-5874); Bangkok University Art Gallery (tel +66 (0)2 350-3500); Chulalongkorn University Arts Centre (tel +66 (0)2 218-2964, www.car.chula.ac.th/art); H Gallery (tel +66 (0)1 310-4428, www..hgallerybkk.com); The National Gallery (tel +66 (0)2 221-5874); Project 304 (tel +66 (0)2 243-4326, www.geocities. com/soho/square/5334); The Queen’s Gallery (tel +66 (0)2 281-5360-1); Rotunda Gallery (tel +66 (0)2 231731, www.neilsonhayslibrary.com/rotunda. htm); Si-am Art Space (tel +66 (0)2 671-6878); Surapon Gallery (tel +66 (0)2 638-0033); Tadu Contemporary Art Gallery (tel +66 (0)2 645-2473); Tang Gallery (tel +66 (0)2 630-1114, www.tanggallery.com); Thai Contemporary Design Centre (tel + 66 (0)2 664-8448, www.tcdc.or.th); Th avibu Gallery (tel +66 (0)2 266-5454, www.thavibu.com) CULTURAL ORGANISATIONS Alliance Francaise (tel +66 (0)2 670-4200, www.alliance-francaise.or.th); Goethe-Institut Bangkok (tel +66 (0)2 2870-9424, www.goethe.de/ins/th/ban); O[fb03] ce of Contemporary Art and Culture (tel +66 (0)2 422-8841, www.ocac.go.th)

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