Kiss My Reers

Reer is the offspring of Rabbit and Deer . . . enter the world of Pan Pan Narkprasert's Reer . . . the endearing story of good friends, a gay rabbit called Bunny and a lesbian deer called Cathy-O who manages through some inventive method to impregnate herself with Bunny (no contact). Upon entering H Gallery, you see a beautifully illustrated little story book, it tells the story, in the most endearing, seemingly innocent way of the two friends and their reer. Then you look closer and see all the tiny little absurdities and perverse sexual citations . . .then you realise that these cute little beasts are metaphors for something more than Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit and AA Milne's Winnie the Pooh although they were hardly normal animals either.

The walls of the gallery were adorned with Bunny, Cathy-O, and Reer and how he was made, drawings of anuses, a sculpture of Bunny and Cathy-O - sex and homosexuality glorified and celebrated. Not vulgar, perhaps shocking but at the same time soft and sincere. There is a Jakkai Sributr homage in the form of a fabric collage and a frame with drawings of Reer stretched about with thread where you see him being "singled" out Thai mob style.

Then one enters the next room and this is when the world in which Reer exists comes to life, there are Reers everywhere.

I found the photographs particularly strong for its composition and that menacing feeling that comes with shadow and silhouettes.

Pan Pan is a multi-disclinpary artist and the show includes a performance captured in film of a "monk" and sex toys . . .then there is Reer, all by himself, stretched out.

Reer is fluffy and soft with sparkling eyes (he likes oversized sex toys too), yet an outsider to the world of rabbit and deer, he is the product of sexual liberation and sheer perserverance and in the real world that we live, of imagination and creativity on Pan Pan's behalf.

Only 22, recently graduated from UCLA and back in Thailand, fresh young blood and with effervescent energy and this is his very first solo show. I went to see the works at his house a few months back and fell in love with the detail, the story, and just the mock cuteness of it all. The technique and skill set is there, his drawings are beautiful, no surprise when his mentors/teachers are Barbara Kruger and Catherine Opie (Cathy-O is inspired by the latter) and for this young-one, the theme can only progress, his world can only grow and become more complex. At the moment, it is one of liberation, of endless possibilities of hope despite being singled out and different, the future is bright . . .

H has a knack for finding that bright young thing, the opening was packed and honestly, I do not remember such a buzzing night at H's since a while ago. Congrats Pan Pan and my kisses to Reer.

Kiss My Reers is on at H Gallery Sathorn Soi 12 until August 29th.

Photos courtesy of Jan Sriyuksri

Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Green. . .

Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue said Barnett Newman in 1966. In 2010, Rirkrit Tiravanija comes along and asks us, right, smack in the middle of Bkk at 100 Tonson Gallery which a couple of months ago witnessed just a few metres down, riots and protests, Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Green?

We know with Barnett Newman that he was referring to the primary colours and challenges one to engage, to enter into his painting, a return to pure colour, flat plane. To Newman art is an adventure to an unknown world, it is his function as an artist to make the spectator see the world his way, and favours simple expression of complex thought and lastly there is no such thing as a good painting about nothing . . .(1943)

Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue? - Barnett Newman 1966

In P'Rirkrit's piece there is no blue, but, green which is certainly not a primary colour and comes from mixing blue and yellow . . .where did blue go? . .does the reference to Newman's revolutionary piece (he is considered the godfather of minimalism and to him I pay my dues and respect, from the Broken Obelisk to that steamy simple orange White and Hot) suggest it's existence albeit in the background? Questions and pondering aside once at the vernissage, one can absolutely not disregard the fact that Rirkrit's first solo show in Thailand not at his own space Verr but at 100 Tonson was like a hero's welcoming home party. . .or that is exactly what the jubilant and curious atmosphere at the vernissage would suggest.

Tonson Gallery was turned into a mural and a street canteen all at once, chaotic almost. I had seen the Green Curry piece at Zwirner gallery in NY a few years back, albeit I was not around at the opening but this was something extremely different, this is Bkk, Thailand, not Chelsea, NY.

I entered the space to a mob of people, not mob like in April but a mob of art fans, students, friends and supporters of P'Rirkrit's and contemporary art in Thailand. Even if what was in the gallery might have confounded them, they stayed and soaked it in.

So there I was standing in a mob of people with a backdrop of illustrated revolution, demonstration and state-endorsed brutality and what we as a nation have gone through in recent years. . .queuing for a bowl of red, yellow or green curry on rice. A soup-line, exactly like that on Rajdamri when the Red shirts were around, but this time it is P'Rirkrit's recipe and it is his work and his peoples serving up the food, in a gallery where the revolution illustrated, pain and emotions captured in pencil on a white-washed walls.

The context is different and too much has happened for us to ignore its ramifaications on society and norms which we accept and too often do not question, perhaps what P'Rirkrit has tried to say for a long time now speaks more to us than it ever did before, we might just be more receptive now than ever. It felt completely comfortable even if the backdrop to the installation shows us police brutality and the fact that Thailand is not a "peaceful" country where everyone gets along and speaks the same language as propoganda would make us believe, we are different. Clearly we do not speak the same language and have different needs. This is evident as much in the natural world as it is a nation state, if it were all to be the same, then all roses would be red and that would be very sad for yellow, white and pink roses.

The thing with colour is that they are all distinct yet they can mix together and form something new.

Red means stop, Yellow means get ready, Green means go . . .those are traffic lights . . .it is the law, these norms tell us what to do. What happens then when Red and Yellow decide to fight . . .where's Green? In England the Green party are kind of the liberal hippies always side lined. In this case, where is the Green in the space except for the colour of the curry, we haven't heard of green shirts after all (and where is orange?).

I tried all three colours and thus assured myself that I was not scared of neither red, yellow nor green, though yellow was particularly spicy but clear . . .green was probably the tastiest and red looked good but was a bit bland. Not sure if we were supposed to comment on taste, I just know though that an artist-cooked meal is as good as any.

I have collected bits of P'Rirkrit souvenirs here and there for years, be it jello box from Miami Basel, to a freedom of expression pamplet at the Guggenheim and most recently the Commoner's Manifesto printed in red at the BACC so it was neat to meet the artist in person. He is very nice and extremely funny with sparkling eyes. He told me that the mural will grow, there will be more, at the moment there are cops, monuments, mobs and torutre and the Democracy Monumet. ..I wonder what will be on the wall on the 28th when he has his workshop. I would also love an explanation - all this must represent complex thought after all.

If art is a language then so is food, if art does not speak to you then well, food speaks to our tummies when we are hungry, it engages. . . P'Rirkrit opens up the door and starts the conversation . . . and as we go into the world he creates of mobs, colours, curries, aromas, revolution and freedom, at least for me anyway, it made me question, really what does it all mean and why are we afraid? Differences exist anyway, they always have, to not accept = use of force to suppress some sort of freedom, inequalities, institutional corruption and brutality. It is a bit ironic really with the state of the world and its woes and we queue for curry.

The drawings on the wall engages us as it captures something which is very much, to a Thai person in a our very recent memory, it triggers emotion, whereas before it was our parents and Oct 14th but this time it is May 10th - it forces us to look, watch think and not be afraid, to finally question and engage rather than think it is not our business.

My interpretation from a few bowls of curry, red, yellow and green - rather intriguing, confusing and fun, I think next I would like to try P'Rirkrit's turkish coffee from his cook book . . What is so ordinary through the eyes and the work of Rirkrit Tiravanija becomes utterly extraordinary.

Navin's Party, the Yellows and the Reds

Just when you thought there is really no hope . . . and your hope descends deeper and deeper into the realms of darkness with the never ending bickering between the Reds and the Yellows with the former's excuse of freeing the "people" in order to literally "spill blood" . . . and just when the conflict of ideology and reality of gross inequalities comes to light and it becomes clear that the real victims are not acknowledged, along comes Navin's party.  

Navin and I

By all means an imaginary party but one which begs the question as to whether we could all get along as Navin under one party because a shared name (or Nevin or Nabin or whatever), if a party is just about a name or sharing something in common be it ideology or just benefit and questions the party system and politics as it is today.

Navin is an artistic phenomenon, he is a manic producer of work, definitely pop in the way it speaks to popular culture but satirical and challenging at the same time.  Just when one thinks "Where is Navin?" where did he go?  He comes along with his "Party" the culmination of 4 years of work which challenges and questions all those things perceived to be correct.  He collected all the Navins in the world and rest be content, there are many in different forms and renditions and formed his "party" - he then celebrated it with a New Orleans style party of balloons with the Korean "Nabin" stamped on them, gumbo, jambalaya rice and crayfish and multiple statues of his the Party Manifesto.  It was a installation for the senses where the Korean drama was replicated to show the essence of the Nabin (Korean for Navin) party, there was even a Bollywood film as part of his party's campaign, the party campaign.  

He challenges the idea of the party system and ideology altogether and really, can all these different ideologies exist under one name?

Perhaps yes, if that name is Navin . . . Is it not ludicrous really to believe and support if it is all in a name? or in Thailand's case a colour? What is it that we all believe in anyway? It is a satire of society and politics that humours, provokes and challenges.

The opening of his great ouevre was at Jean Michel's and Pasri Bunnag's private gallery . . .a beautiful glass structure with the must cutting edge and thought provoking collection of Thai contemporary art.  

I was particulsarly taken by this piece by Araya . . .Departure of Country Thai Girls. 

A paiting by Pinaree that can be seen in the background and another by Montien Boonmee recalling a mood and texture found in Arte Povera movement and in part of Sera but with a particularly Thai touch, this is after all a pagoda.

The grand dame herself, Pasri Bunnag is an inspiration to me as is the grand matriarch of Thai performance art, Patravadi.

Patravadi and Pasri

Khun Yai Pasri and I

A Thai, New Orleans big band played throughout the night as we drunk and talked art and the state of affairs - so litteraly, Navin's PARTY - as always, it was lovely to catch up with P'Harry, P'Brook, Malina, John, P'Eric, P'Kong and Khun Yai.  The new addition, I grew particularly fond of was Khun Kati Boonlontub. .the family's big labrador who's name means Coconut-Milk Under a lot of merit . . . he along with most of us perhaps oblivious as to what was or not at all, acknowledging that there is something wrong and the fate of our country is grey yet choosing to carry on.  

It is perhaps in times like these when the only solace we have is each other and art . . . after all, is that not what expression is about? An offering of an alternative reality and a capturing of a moment in time? 

At that time I never would have thought that the vicious bickering between the two sides and the vicious bloody-mindedness of one man would descend to a blood bath, voodoo rituals, the illegal gathering of information decontextualised to coerce and convince people that the government are out to harm them, the consequence being to incite, fear, hate and paranoia in the population.  I am at a loss of words to see with my own eyes how blood is not spilt out of "love" or in battle but drawn to throw away.  

It would be naive if not darn right ignorant to say all this does not effect us, the long standing effect being that there will always be doubt and never again can we be the land of smiles the tourist sites make us out to be.  Then again, Thais forget and business goes on but what will it take to erase this away . . . a paint job might not work this time.  It needs a change to a place where we do care about our fellow countrymen irrespective of ethnicity, wealth or class, it needs respect, and these things must be established before we can even talk about democracy. 

Thank you Navin for showing that art should care and anything less than a criticism of the way things are, a satire or an alternative is not good enough - not at this time.  Art is a language and in these troubled times, it should speak about it, to not, would be ignoring the realities.  It should inspire and challenge and it must enable the viewer to  engage and to empathise, how does it exist otherwise, an empty void lacks a purpose which is only just pretty but that in itself, beauty without substance is vacuous.  

To say, "I will do my thing irrespective of institutional support and I will express myself no matter what" is already a criticism of the status quo.  Thailand is innately a country of artists - it is now time that we care and form our own parties, our own thoughts and express ourselves, not at the expense of others but also to serve them. . .Sure it is political, and politics can be a pain but we must accept that we cannot escape it and therefore we have a responsibility and we can give effect to that in our own way, by doing what we do best . . .and that can be in the form of creating beautiful things.  

So, Hail and Hail Navin's Party and I'll be seeing you at Mahakarta.

Thai Folk Wisdom

I met a lovely lady last week at Paradise Bkk (my 3rd Paradise Bkk now and of course still with P'Oh - I love those nights), her name was Tulaya, she is a friend of quite a few of my friends.  She wrote a book about Thai folklore, specially Thai proverbs and has curated a body of work, a book as well as an exhibition of art that seeks to interpret these quaint and quite wise sayings we have heard since we were little and perhaps took forgranted. To read them again - well, let's say I heard a few oooohs and aaaahs and gigles.  Thought provoking it certainly was . .. .

"A strand of hair can hide a mountain" 

mixed tape on paper by Jitsing Somboon

"Walk behind the elders and the dogs won't bite"

Textiles collage by Jakkai Sributr

"Fancy folks with red feet take side steps"

Cowhide and wood by Chusak Srikwan

P'Oh and I did not get so much time to see the exhibition as it one of those openings where we found ourselves constantly engaging in conversation and it was also one of those nights where we had to go to yet another opening at Sirindia Gallery near The Oriental.  Thank goodness for bkk public transport .. .I wonder which proverb would suit that . .  . I think the red feet one probably applies, as you don't see many fancy folk on the BTS even though it is about the most efficient thing ever about this city!

Mundane History

The Opening Film of the Bkk World Film Festival was anything but mundane . . .again, as subtle as her contemporaries and just as still but with moments of "shock" in this case, personal histories or paralysation, far far from ordinary.  It evoked feelings that were buried deep inside me and certain scenes brought them forward and it was like an eruption of emotion, I was completely overwhelmed by these feelings . . . the bathroom scene where I could hardly look for I felt so bad, the constellation scene which was magnificent for its randomness and joy and the last explosion, so surreal and powerful, yet very very real and close to us a the same time. Any chronological order or system was completely and utterly dispensed with, us being taken along on a ride where time, history, past and present are completely irrelevant, the only thing evident was that sadness and pain are synonymous with unequivocal joy.  Anocha Suwichakonpong is one to watch.

Mundane History will screen once more this Thursday at 21.45 at the Bangkok World Film Festival at Paragon.

Kuppa Spa and the rest of the weekend

There is a wonderful restaurant/coffee shop in Sukhumvit Soi 16 called Kuppa, the gorgeous and ever-so-talented founder of the restaurant, P'Robin decided to open a spa behind it.  Needless to say, this really is not any ordinary spa . . . along side the massage rooms and little hair dressing units there are private rooms upstairs for parties and a one-of-a kind guitar jamming studio.  So basically, if Guitar Hero ceases to satisfy, one can come along and jam on any of the the guitars in the fully equipped sound-proof studio . .  Pretty neat I would say.

interior

Cleo, Michelle and I stumbled along to the opening after a rather hard day spent at the weekend market.  In retrospect, an afternoon hanging out the rooftop at P'Harry's might have been a smarter idea and the boys, Archie, Alex and Jez (Harry's guests) did look a fair bit fresher than we did . . . or maybe it is the wonderfully charming and vivacious nature of English boys where they are able to charm and entertain whoever it is that is in sight even if in actual fact all they long for is a bed?  I am not so sure, I spent a lot of the night catching up with old friends and making some new ones whilst Cleo and Michelle terrorised the Flow boys.  

Dannie mixing a cocktail

Vachek, Trina, Me, Archie, Cleo, Jez, Michelle

The cocktails were so sublime and really rather strong that we ended up heading to Demo after Kuppa . . . Michelle and I had gone the night before too - amazing fun for Jay's and Na's bday on the mezzanine.

Alex, Cleo and Archie

The additions of the English boys from Hong Kong (Archie, Alex, and Jez), my boarding school friend (Michelle), Cleo and her friends from the European Commission to the mix,  made for quite a difference in the atmosphere,  and added to that, being car-less and staying with Michelle at Ten Face made it a remarkable and memorable weekend. 

Michelle and I

The weekend did start for me at Chotchitr and went on and on up until Harry's place where once more he played the most gracious host late Saturday night.  It was utterly surreal as the weekend ended with Sunday lunch at Plern's and David's (Harry's parents) - for me it was completely out of synch with my normal Bangkok experience, it was like I was somewhere else and we enjoyed ourselves so much it felt a bit too short - though any longer and we might have needed resuscitation.  Definitely a sweet,  memorable and "maxi"-funny weekend. I said once that Harry is the king of creating fantasies - well, this one definitely was a fantasy but one that I believe, will be repeated again and again as there were far too many jokes and memorable moments for there not to be a bond. . . Bangkok has that effect on  people.

Light and Shadow

Smoke and mirrors . . .that's Hollywood - in this case the light and shadow I'm talking about is from the work of Wit Pimkanchanapong at 100 Tonson Gallery . . . A beautiful installation which explores the relationship between light and shadows as mirrored panels move mechanically aroudn a light.  What he creates is almost a conversation between them where the singular exposed bulb in the middle is the only source of light where everything else grows from. . . the mirrored panels flickering in and out, constantly turning.  Never once does it feel the same as the light and shadows change at each angle thus creating different emotions as the shadows and light change.  It is in itself a subtle exploration of time and space and dichotamy.  Each moment created from the same structure yet, different every time . . . interesting and rather provoking.

  

Reminiscent of work of Olafur Eliasson, his intallastions at the Moma last summer, but of course Wit has his own language and it is clear yet mysterious.  Worth a trip - the space is wonderful.

I went for the opening night a few weeks back but the piece does deserve an audience that is disengaged from wine, roti and interesting conversation.  I bumped into P'Ing and P'Manit (Kathmandu Gallery) with the former of whom I was engaged in long conversation about film, P'Ing after all will be making an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth and has gone through the painstaking task of translation toute seul whilst maintaining the Bard's Iambic Pentameter.  Interesting.  Oh and let's not forget catching up with an old boarding school friend and Cleo.  So yes, Wit's work is deserving of a real audience thus I must go back by the 25th October to get a real taste of his version of light and shadow.