Showing 1 - 8 of 8
The art of activism
Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 20/02/2017
» The Thai arts scene has become more politically engaging in the past couple of years. The 2014 coup, of course, has been the most significant transition point in this respect. Before, it was very much about making sense of the colour-coded divide, trying to get into the mentality behind such ideological conflict. In the post-coup era, however, it can be said that the ideas and interests have become somewhat more unified. Artists have become increasingly aware of and responded more to the authoritarian power and the climate of fear and rights restriction.
Abstraction remains our faulty coping mechanism
Oped, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 30/09/2016
» A theatrical performance, Fundamental, which lends its physical movements and body language to reconstruct Thailand's hushed-up history of the bloody military crackdown on pro-democracy students on Oct 6, 1976 has attracted the regime's attention.
Art attack
Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 08/06/2016
» The art dispute of the year is upon us. As the art community sees the rift open up, it also reminds society of the ideological divide that has plagued Thailand for many years. The stage is the exhibition called "The Truth_ To Turn It Over" curated by Gwangju Museum of Art to commemorate the 1980 Gwangju Uprising against the military dictatorship; it's been almost a month since the show opened in South Korea, but it's still very much "an ongoing process" -- a very heated one at that.
Who’ll show the elephant out of the room?
News, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 28/04/2016
» There's this huge elephant in this room, of which no one -- neither the military government nor the general public -- talks about out loud, and it's one of the most likely explanations why the regime has held on to power as long as it has.
Art as a political act
Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 18/03/2016
» It was with a feeling of nausea and disgust that Chiang Mai-based artist Mit Jai Inn spent one month working on his new series of abstract paintings, now on display and part of the exhibition "Wett" at Gallery Ver at N22 in Bangkok. Mit's series is entitled "Junta Monochrome" -- obviously not for the works themselves -- for the art space has exploded with every colour imaginable; rather the title conveys the artist's contempt for the reality outside: a junta-ruled country where things are either black or white, where if you're not a khon dee (good person), the artist says, you are inevitably the bad guy.
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss
News, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 25/02/2016
» I wonder if People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) protesters must, in one way or another, take responsibility for where we are now as a country, nearly two years under the military regime. This is if you care to look at the situation, out of curiosity and an attempt at straightforward reasoning, rather than vengefulness.
A play with democracy
Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 29/10/2015
» A theatre workshop by Indonesian performance collective Teater Garasi took place for five days in Hong Kong last week as part of West Kowloon Cultural District's International Workshop Festival of Theatre. As a participant, the experience for me was both an inspiration and the source of a lingering sense of embarrassment.
The shape-shifting form of protests
Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 06/10/2015
» The streets remained empty and all was quiet when thousands of people gathered last Wednesday night to protest against the government's Single Gateway proposal. Protesters weren't, however, down at major landmarks like Asoke or Ratchaprasong intersections, but simply in front of their computer screens. By merely punching the refresh button, these protesters let their resentment known to the authorities by crashing at least six government sites, including the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology.